


Final Fantasy

by TeiEsu



Series: The Gray Area [1]
Category: Final Fantasy
Genre: Angst, Death, Drama & Romance, F/M, Family, Jealousy, Multi, friend
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-25
Updated: 2019-04-27
Packaged: 2020-01-31 12:18:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 17
Words: 42,024
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18591130
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TeiEsu/pseuds/TeiEsu
Summary: When Garland and Zera go crazy in the Kingdom of Cornelia, Kari seriously doubts that she and her friends are the Warriors of Light from legend. While she would happily continue on with their little life, she follows her friends into a journey that changes their lives for good. In this journey there are secrets behind the thickest walls, and not just outside of the four friends.





	1. Opening and Characters

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> When I write Game Fanfics, I like posting a chapter with the Characters in it, kind of like the books you would get in the older games a few years back.
> 
> I apologize if you find them annoying, but it's become a habit and one that I shall continue to use.

The world lies shrouded in darkness,  
The winds die…the seas rage…the earth decays…  
But the people believe in a prophecy, patiently awaiting its fulfillment,  
“When darkness veils the world, four Warriors of Light shall come…”  
After a long journey, four young travelers did at last appear…  
…and in the hand of each was clutched a crystal.

 

LIGHT  
Warrior  
Age: 17  
Height: 6’1’  
Weapon: Sword  
Special Skill: Oversoul  
A man of honor, ready to prove his worth.  
A Warrior of light clad in armor, wielding sword and shield. A noble warrior that fears no one and gallantly faces any foe. The leader of the little group, Light is a skilled and honorable swordsman who is quite stoic and determined. Protective of all three of his friends, who is the first to move to guard them from any sort of danger. When he and his friends were approached by the woman in white, he was up to the challenge waiting for them at Castle Cornelia.

 

KARI  
Thief  
Age: 16  
Height: 5’9’  
Weapon: Knives and a short sword  
Special Skill: Stealth  
A woman that enjoys money and her friends.  
A thief that has no recollection of her life before Ferris and Mac’s mother found her as a six-year-old in the forest. Ferris and Mac are her family and she wouldn’t have them any other way, despite how wild the scenes around the two of them can be. Light is close to her too, though she would like to have him under a different type of closeness. When approached by the woman in white, Kari was the one that didn’t think accepting the crystals and going to Castle Cornelia was going to be a good idea but when the trio left, she followed to stay near them.

 

FERRIS  
Red Mage  
Age: 18  
Height: 6’0’  
Weapon: Magic and a staff  
Special Skill: Hell’s Judgment  
The comic relief  
The younger of the two, Ferris is rarely seen without his brother at his side. He’s normally a comedian, using his magic powers to entertain others. Very protective of Kari, he doesn’t even like seeing her with Light by themselves and always butts in, though his brother tries to stop him most of the time. When the woman in white approached, Ferris swore to her that he would complete the task for her beauty; whether he was serious or just kidding has yet to be seen.

 

MAC  
Monk  
Age: 23  
Height: 6’2’  
Weapon: Fists and Feet  
Special Skill: Ki-O-Ken  
The calm and reliable  
The older of the two, Mac is the silent and calm of the four, and the one that they each trust the most. Like the opposite side of his brother’s coin, he can control his brother when things get serious. The dependable older brother to them all, Mac wasn’t letting the trio go off on their own with the woman in white’s mission on their shoulders.

 

GARLAND  
Knight  
Age: 27  
Height: 6’5’  
Weapon: Sword  
Special Skill: Soul of Chaos  
A stalwart man consigned to the endless cycle of battle, he enjoys dueling with stronger foes.  
Garland was once the head Knight of Cornelia. The strongest of the Kingdom, something happened that drove this great man into kidnapping the Princess, leading to his fall from grace; and not just his. What is he trying to accomplish?

 

ZERA  
Paladin  
Age: 26  
Height: 5’10’  
Weapon: Rapier  
Special Skill: Tempest  
A spirited warrior, her only true commander is the man she loves.  
Garland’s companion since they were children, it was not hard to see Zera following after the knight in his fall from grace. A Fierce woman that would place fear in any enemy of Cornelia now sets it in the king and his people.

 

WOMAN IN WHITE  
?  
Age:?  
Height:?  
Weapon:?  
Special Skill:?  
A woman in search of a way to stop the pain  
Nothing is known of this woman. One day she approached Light and the others and gave them each a crystal, telling them of the journey that lay before them in the Kingdom of Cornelia.


	2. Prologue - I've Caught You

“You can’t catch me, no matter how hard you try.”  
“But-but-”  
“No buts! You’re gonna have to work harder before you get your prize.”  
“But-”  
“Didn’t I say no buts?”  
“But you’re the fastest in the city, Zera! How can I ever hope to catch you?”  
The young girl hung her head before giving a glare at the young boy before her. “Garland, if you want to have any chance at all of becoming a Knight, then you’d better toughen up from this little wimp you are now.” The boy flinched before hanging his own head. She sighed. “I don’t mean to be harsh, but you have to toughen up. Get stronger and faster! That’s the only way you’ll be able to catch me. If you think I’m mean, then those other knights are going to tear you apart; you’ll never make it out on the battlefield.”  
Garland dropped down onto the ground. “How did you get so fast, Zera?”  
The young girl gave another sigh and dropped down beside him. They were on a hill, just outside of the town of Cornelia. The tall castle could be seen over the town, the girl’s eyes shone as she stared at it.  
Zera was about nine with short, golden blonde hair and grey eyes. In a pair of tattered shorts and a white tank top and a worn out pair of boots, she wiped sweat from her face.   
Garland was a year older than her with short, dark brown hair and matching eyes. Dressed in his own shorts and tank top, his outfit was a bit newer than the girl’s.   
“You know that I wasn’t born here,” She began. “Grandmother Jezebelle took me in when they found me outside in the streets.”  
“I know that,” Garland told her. “I heard my parents talking about you one night. You’re from Crescent Lake, aren’t you?”  
“Yes, that’s right. My parents just wanted to visit the Castle before they got too old, wanted to see it, and they took me along. Unfortunately we were attacked by bandits. I was on my own in the wild, lost for days unknown. I just continued to travel east after I was able to convince myself to move again. I thought every day that I was going to die; every night. But I hadn’t. I don’t know how long I had been out there, but when I finally arrived here…I felt safe again.”  
“If you felt safe, then why do you want to join the Cornelia Knights?” Garland asked her. “You’re safe now. You don’t have to go out into the wild again.”  
“That’s just it, Garland.” Zera continued. “I don’t want to just hide here in this damn town. I want to face my fears and…maybe go back home.”  
She didn't see the small frown that turned the boy's lips. “Is your home not here now?”  
“It is, but I’d like to see Crescent Lake; at least once more.” She admitted. “Give my parents a proper burial at their home.”  
Garland was silent for a moment or two before jumping back up to his feet. “Let’s get back to training, Zera.”  
She looked up at him. “Huh?”  
“Training,” He repeated himself, looking down at her. “If you’re going to get stronger, than I am going to be twice as strong. If you’re going to go back home, then I am going to go with you.”  
Zera felt surprised and almost grinned at him but instead she snorted as she stood, turning from him. “And just why do I need a little brat following me everywhere, huh?”  
“One day, this little brat is going to be a man, Zera, and a man that is going to be strong enough to protect you from everything. You’ll never be alone or feel afraid again.” He smiled at her. “I promise.”  
The girl gave a huff, ignoring the heat that was starting to rise in her cheeks. “Let’s just go.”

 

_~The Dawn is breaking  
A light shining through  
You’re barely waking  
And I’m tangled up in you~_

 

“It only took ten years, but I guarantee that you bastards are cursing every damn word that you ever said to me, aren’t you!?”  
Zera, now 19, grinned in the training courtyard of Cornelia Castle as she stood over the squad that she had been given control of. As the only woman to have even tried to join the knights of the kingdom, she had been ridiculed and mocked the entire way but now that she had been accepted by the king and named a knight of his kingdom, she was getting her revenge.  
“Knock that snide smirk from your face, Gerald! Twenty laps around the town after training. Laughing, Richard? You can join him. No complaints,” She hushed them. “Or I’ll add more.”  
It had taken ten years, but she had finally reached her goal. The only thing she hated about it was that Garland was no longer there to celebrate with her. He had joined into the training with her but about two years ago he had gone on a trip with his mother and neither of them had returned. She had thought about going to search for them, but she would have no idea where to start. No one knew where they had gone. Instead she swore to keep to her promise, whether or not he was there to continue it with her.  
It took even longer, but the other Knights of the Kingdom got used to her and accepted her amongst themselves, making her truly feel like one of the troop. Months went by and the longer she helped train, the more women she saw. Only a few, of course, but to even know that a few followed after her, saw her as their idol, it would have brought tears to her eyes had she not kept them back in public. Grandmother Jezebelle would have been so proud if she were still with her today.  
“Will you race me, Lady Zera?”   
Lifting her head, she turned to the young man that had spoken to her. She was running rounds around the outskirts of the city with a few of the newer warriors under her. There had been word of a few monsters causing havoc to the herders.   
“Race you?” She repeated him.  
“Yes,” He nodded. “I have heard word from my brother that you’re one of the fastest of the Knights.”  
Zera sighed, shaking her head. “This is hardly the time for a foot race, Christophe.”  
“But if I can beat you, then I’ll know for a fact that I’ll beat him!” The young man told her.  
“Him?”  
“There’s a man in town,” Another of the trainees began to explain. “Arrived about a week ago. He’s been going around and challenging the warriors to races around the fields out here. He’s extremely fast; perhaps faster than you, Lady Zera.”  
“Foolishness,” The woman waved a hand. “I don’t claim to be the fastest. If you men are failing to win, then ‘tis your own fault. It has nothing to do with our rounds so get these childish thoughts out of your head and continue on.”  
But for the next few weeks, that is all she has heard of. Constant word of the racing man in the town reached her ears to the point where she was just tired of it.  
“Ugh,” She groaned, leaning back on the grass. She was off her duties for the day and had gone out to a hill that overlooked the kingdom. Her horse, Gideon, grazed not too far off as she stared up at the fading clouds as the sun began to set; she didn’t feel like returning to the kingdom just yet. “Stupid people. Can’t they just find something more entertaining than a man that likes to race?”  
“Yes, it is rather foolish, but it is quite entertaining at the same time,” A voice reached her as a form moved up the hill towards her. “Entertaining to see the warriors of the Cornelia Kingdom worry more about a race than the actual rounds they’re supposed to be performing.”  
“Indeed,” Zera sat up, a frown on her face due to her new, unwanted company. “And I take it that you’re this racer that they won’t shut up about.”  
“And I take it that you’re Lady Zera. I have heard much about the first female knight.”   
The man didn’t sit down, making the woman look up at him. The man was huge! Over six feet with muscles that seemed to bulge out of his tan skin, his dark hair was kept short as a grin sat on his face. Wearing well kept clothes, it was fact that this man had lived well over the years.  
“I should say that I am honored, but I’m not.”  
“You’re also not really that friendly,” The man chuckled.  
“Need I be?” Zera pushed herself up to her feet again and moved to her horse before turning back to face him. “What is your name?”  
“Aww, now I’ll only tell you that if you can beat me in a race.”  
She turned back to her horse. “No thanks.”  
“Come now. The great knight isn’t going to run away, is she?”  
He made her freeze again. “Run away?” She repeated, turning to glare at him. “Oh no. Instead I am going to race you and when you win, I’ll grind your bones so hard into the ground that you won’t be able to challenge another Knight here in Cornelia.”  
The man gave a laugh. “If agreeing to this, you might want to remove your armor, paladin.”  
She snorted at him, taking a place at the bottom of the hill. “That won’t be necessary. With or without it, the outcome shall just be the same.”  
He moved up next to her. “Indeed it shall.” There was a pause. “Once around the town and castle?”   
She didn’t reply and waited for him to shout ‘go’. She took off, prepared to move as fast as she could to shove this guy’s face in the dirt so she didn’t have to hear about him anymore. She would win and then tomorrow she would threaten anyone that thought of speaking about this racer-man in front of her again and make them regret it if they di-  
“You haven’t changed at all, Zera,” The woman pulled a confused face before giving a surprised yelp as she was swept off of her feet. One arm around her hips and the other beneath her thighs, he hoisted her up to where she had to look down at him. He stretched his neck up further to get closer to her face.  
“I’ve caught you. I told you that I one day would.” His words made a tingle go down Zera’s spine as her eyes widened in disbelief.   
There was only one person that would say that. After all this time...  
“Garland?”   
The grin on the man’s face told her that she was right. She gave a small laugh. A feeling of relief passed through her, hitting her chest unlike any other feeling that she had felt before. She should have felt anger but all she could do was smile; tease.   
She could as questions later.  
“Indeed you have. Shall I give you your prize?”  
Garland gave a laugh and tightened his grip. “I believe that I already have the prize that I want, Zera, and I doubt that I’ll ever let it get away.” She didn’t have a chance to reply as his lips crashed to hers.   
This was not what she had been expecting. Any thoughts of the race was shoved to the back of her mind as the man kissed her. And not just any man. The man that had been gone for three years. Garland had returned to her. Garland was back.  
“I have been waiting years to do that,” He continued to grin at her after he pulled back.  
“Yes, well, do give me a bit of a warning next time,” She told him  
“All right; you’re warned.” He kissed her again.  
“Wait, wait,” She pushed back on his chest. “Not that I don’t…enjoy the actions, you have some explaining to do, Garland.”  
Setting her back down on her feet, Zera got a better look at him. He did look like Garland, that damn grin on his face was just the same. But he was no longer that skinny little brat that she remembered. Now…now he was a man. Whatever he had gone through these last few years had certainly changed him.  
“When my mother and I left, she had wanted to go and see her parents again in Pravoka. She seemed to know that her life was coming to an end because not long after arriving, she passed on.”   
Zera frowned. Garland’s mother had been so sweet.   
“I was going to return after that, but I remembered what I had promised you. I was going to get strong, twice as strong, and at that moment there was no way possible that I was anywhere near as strong as you. So for the last three years, I’ve trained; in my own little ways of course, and now you see the finished result before you. Not too bad, eh?”  
“Three years?” She repeated him, a look on her face.  
He gave a kid-ish grin. “The only way that I knew I would be stronger than you was if I could catch you. I knew, eventually, you would agree to the race if I had spread around the other knights. Which, by the way, congratulations on being named a knight. Now I just need to be accepted as well and I’ll be able to fulfill my promise.”  
“You’re actually serious about this.” Zera sighed, shaking her head in disbelief.  
“Of course I am,” He told her. He reached forward and curled her hair behind her ears. “I hated being apart from you for so long, Zera, but I also knew that I had to do it to get where I needed to be. Now that I’m here, I don’t plan on ever leaving your side again. Now that I’ve caught you,” He grabbed her again, pulling her into his chest. “I don’t plan on ever letting go.”  
Zera felt her face flush. It would be a lie for her to say that she had not developed feelings for the boy she knew as a child but the moment that he had disappeared from her life she had placed them under lock and key. Now that he had returned, a man, perhaps now was the time to set them free. It was very clear that this was what he was planning on doing.  
“You’d better not, Garland.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have a thing for Villains, as you will come to notice as the Final Fantasy series continues. All of their stories are interesting and I think they deserve more than they got, a better story behind it. I can't blame the older ones due to the dates they came out, but I can offer myself a type of solace.   
> It's also why the series is called The Gray Area.
> 
> The song that I paired with Garland and Zera is Collide, by Howie Day. It's adorable and fits them <3


	3. Warriors of Light

“Penny for your thoughts?”  
“You know my thoughts already, Ferris.”  
“I know that. It’s just entertaining to see you in this mood of yours.” The man gave a sigh and took a seat beside the young woman. “Does it really bother you that much, Kari?”  
Kari, a thief with short, sandy brown hair and green eyes, glared at the man next to her. Dressed in a pair of green shorts and brown boots, there was a white top under a green, matching vest that she left open. Tied around her head was a green and white bandana with a short sword tied on her hip and a few knives inside the panel of her vest.  
Ferris was a red mage, a few years older than the thief, was a tall man with long, blond hair and green eyes he was dressed in white with a long red jacket, accompanied by a large, red fedora with a white feather.   
“A strange woman appeared before us, claiming that we are the four warriors of legend. She gave us four crystals and told us to journey to another kingdom to save a child that has been kidnapped by a pair of knights that have gone crazy. Despite all this, _HE_ agrees to it and drags us along with him!” Kari growled as she pointed at the man ahead of them, staring at Cornelia.  
“Well, Light’s always been a strange one. Wants to save people, no matter the story.”  
 _~Isn’t that the truth~_  
Light was a young warrior, the only one of the four that was dressed in any actual type of armor that was pale blue with gold and khaki details with a matching, horned helmet and a long, khaki cape. He had long, silver hair and aquamarine eyes.  
“Are you sure we’re going to be okay in this one?” Kari pondered.  
“What do you mean?” Ferris asked her.  
“Well it’s true that this isn’t going to be like any of the others things that we have done before. This isn’t going to be like a mission at Jekall Island or Luthonia, all right? This is something much more important; more dangerous.”  
“And you don’t think we can handle it?” Was his reply.  
“Think about it, Ferris. We’re four kids from an island not even connected to this kingdom. What in god’s name makes you think that we’re the ones that are supposed to save them? The hardest thing we’ve ever done was fight a group of pirates that decided to strike a pub in Luthonia. How are we going to be able to…to save the world?”  
“You’ve been thinking hard about this,” Ferris took in the woman’s words, surprise clear on his face and voice. Kari was normally one to be the first to jump into a mission, not double-think it. “Is it bothering you that much?”  
“Yeah, it is.”  
“Fear not,” the new voice made them turn. “We’ll keep you safe.”  
Mac, Ferris’ older brother, had moved up behind them. With a calm face, the man stared down at the castle. Dressed in a pair of purple and yellow pants with a matching vest that he wore open to show off a toned chest, he wore a headband on his forehead and soft boots on his feet.  
“I’m not worried about myself being kept safe,” She grumbled to herself.  
Mac and Ferris shared a look as their last companion decided to move up the hill and join them. “Are you ready?”  
“To go trooping into what could be a trap? Oh yeah.” Kari stood up, wiping the grass from her pants. "Never been more ready in my life."  
Light sighed as he stared at her. “Have a little faith.”  
“In a woman in white that we’ve never seen before? Sure thing.”  
“Kari,” He sighed again, watching as she led the way towards the city.   
“Don’t worry, Light,” Ferris clapped a hand on his friend’s shoulder. She’s just nervous; she’ll come around.”  
“She’s not nervous,” Mac told Light as Ferris moved after the other. “She’s afraid.”  
“Afraid?” Light repeated, looking confused. “But why? We’re here.”  
“Not all fear can be qualified as the same thing, Light,” He began to move after the other two. “Perhaps you should talk to her.”  
Light stared after the trio in silence before giving a sigh and moving after them into the city.   
The moment they were inside, you could tell that all the citizens were all in distraught over the kidnapping of their princess. Rubble from parts of the outer wall and some buildings, or what was left of them, were scattered throughout the city, as were some dark spots on the brick road that signaled bodies had been there and moved as someone had tried to clean the blood up.  
“Looks like the two knights didn’t hold back,” Kari commented. “Anything in their way got cut down.”  
“Makes me wonder what inside the castle looks like.” Mac blinked.  
“It explains why there are not many guards running around out here,” Ferris rubbed his chin. "These knights were beasts."  
“These were men that they worked with,” Light growled, looking around in distaste. “Men that had trained with them and trusted them! Why? Why dishonor that?”  
“‘Thou can never truly know the mind of the mad’,” Mac replied as he led the way through the city. “‘Lest ye become mad yourself’.”  
“Oh, has dear brother decided to bring out his teacher’s quotes again?” Ferris asked, locking his arms behind his head, careful not to bend the back of his hat.  
“Hey, it’s a good quote,” Kari grinned. “We should take heed of it and get the hell outta dodge.”  
“Patience, Kari,” Light commented, his eyes moving around the town. “We’ll reach the castle soon.”  
“What?” Kari stared at him. He didn’t honestly think that they were just going to be allowed into the castle, did he? This kingdom had just been attacked so their King was probably under extreme lockdown. “There is no way-”   
“You there,” A voice called to them. “Travelers!” The four of them turned to see a guard moving towards them, a look on his face that happily told them that he didn’t like them being here. “What is your business here in Cornelia?”  
“We’re here to collect magic beans!” Ferris grinned happily. Kari snickered as Light closed his eyes and Mac shook his head in disbelief. “You wouldn’t happen to know where we could get into the castle for an ‘ole talk with the king now, do you?”  
That just seemed to make the guard more set against them. “I want you to get out of this city! Now! We already have enough problems as it is.”  
“Yes, we see that,” Kari commented, glancing at the dark spot the man was currently standing in. She began to wonder whether it had been Garland or Zera that did that one.   
“Please calm yourself,” Light held up a hand. “We’re here to help.”  
“Oh? And what help could we need from you?” The guard asked snidely.  
Mac looked at his brother and jerked his head. Ferris sighed and opened his jacket for an inside panel.   
“All right, I’ll show him. You should feel lucky, pal, only the ladies get to see this bad boy.”  
The guard pulled a face, not sure if he wanted to see Ferris’ ‘bad boy’ but the moment a Crystal was held up his face paled. “It can’t be…”  
“Oh, it is,” Ferris smiled as the trio with him pulled out their own Crystals.  
The guard took another look at them all before turning. “Follow me.”  
“See, easy as pie.” The man in red grinned, shoving the Crystal back away. “Now we’re going to the castle.”  
“Yay,” Kari grumbled to herself, shoving her hands on her pockets.   
Everyone’s attention was drawn to the four that were being led to the king, inside the City and inside the castle. Though the castle was fixed, you could tell which parts of the wall had been replaced after the fight with Garland and Zera and where dead bodies had been by the placements of rugs that looked like they were out of place.  
They were led to the doors of the throne room and left outside.  
“Ferris,” Light began. “Do try to refrain yourself in here. We’ll be in front of the king.”  
“Yes, mum,” The man in red sighed, giving Kari a wink. The woman gave a giggle. That’s one of the reasons Ferris was her best friend; he could always make her laugh, no matter the mood of the area; or herself.  
“Enter,” The guard told them when he had returned.  
Taking a breath, Light led the way inside. Inside the throne room was only two men. On looked like an advisor for the man that sat in the throne. The moment the four forms walked in, the draft of speech fell short as the men took in their forms.  
“Nothing but children,” The advisor’s voice reached Mac’s ears as he shook his head; disappointed, it seemed.  
“Welcome, travelers. I am told you carry crystals. Is this true?” The king asked.  
Light pulled out his Crystal again, motioning for the others to follow him. The moment Kari touched the Crystal, a warmth spread through like it always did, setting a calm feeling on her nerves, as if whispering to her that everything would be all right. “It’s just as Lukahn’s prophecy foretold: ‘When darkness veils the world, four Warriors of Light shall come.’”  
The Chancellor turned to his king. “Your majesty, we cannot be certain that these are the warriors foretold by the prophecy.”  
~At least one of them is smart,~ Kari told herself.  
The King blinked. “Yet they stand before us with the crystals. I cannot dismiss this as mere coincidence.” He turned back to them. “Crystal bearers, there is a task I would ask of you. Will you not rescue my daughter, Sarah?”  
“Garland and Zera,” The Chancellor began. “Knights once in His Majesty’s service, have abducted Princess Sarah. I ask for your aid in the name of his Majesty, the king of Cornelia. Garland and Zera have taken refuge in the Chaos Shrine, which lies to our North. Of course, we did attempt to save the princess ourselves…”  
“But got your asses handed to you, right?” Ferris grinned; Kari fought off a laugh. “Not hard to see, after the damage they caused here and in the city. I’m surprised that you even made an attempt.” Mac and Light both gave Ferris a look as Kari just grinned.  
“Garland is the finest swordsman in the kingdom. The only one that had been able to even match him was Zera and with her on his side, it just made it worse.” The Chancellor told them, looking as though it was taking much force to not reply in a curt manner.  
The King nodded in agreement, completely blowing off Ferris’ words. “I have heard that you wish to journey to the continent to our north.”  
~How the hell did he know that?~ Kari wondered. ~Or, perhaps, this guy…~   
“The bridge leading north was lost long ago, making passage impossible. If you can rescue Sarah, I will have the bridge rebuilt as a sign of my gratitude. Go now, Warriors of Light, and do not fail me!”  
“Wait, wait,” Kari began. “The bridge to the north has been down for a while and you just left it like that? Why not rebuild it again when it feel?”  
“It has kept the stronger monsters on the other side of the river,” The King answered her. “It has not been needed for some time, I’m afraid.” The elder man then gave a huge grin. “The Warriors of Light have come at last! How long we have waited for this day to come! Neither Garland nor Zera are the warriors that I once knew…I beg of you. Please return my daughter to me quickly.”  
“Of course.” Light gave a bow and turned to leave the room. Mac and Ferris gave one as well, though Ferris’ was more of a large, boisterous bow where his brother’s was short and stiff. Kari gave the king another look before just turning and following the three men outside.  
~Completely mental they are. This entire kingdom and Light.~


	4. Chaos Shrine

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> When the first Final Fantasy game was released, there was not much dialogue at all so I had to create it. Ferris is probably my favorite character, such a smartass.

“So, what next?”  
Ferris’ question broke the silence between him and Light as they stood in the streets of Cornelia. Light was trying to ignore the stares they were getting but Ferris was sucking it all up, waving at the people as they waited for Mac and Kari to rejoin them from the shops.  
“What do you mean?” Light replied. “We head to the Chaos Shrine and rescue the Princess.”  
“Do you know the stories of Garland and his partner? Zera was the first woman to ever be accepted into the Knights of Cornelia; anywhere, actually. She raised herself up through the ranks and became head Paladin, leader of the guards of the castle. Garland is probably the only one that’s stronger than her in this country. They’ve been training for over twenty years; and together, mind you. I’m starting to see a dilemma here, Light. How are we going to defeat them?”  
“Have faith.” The man in armor told him.  
“That’s what you always say,” Ferris sighed, rolling his eyes. “I swear, it’s like your go-to line when you run out of answers.”  
“Hasn’t failed us yet, has it?” Light grinned. It wasn't often that the uptight companion gave a grin like that and when he did, Ferris couldn't help but feel a bit relieved.  
The man in red gave a laugh. “Yeah, I suppose it hasn’t.” He shoved his hands in his pockets. “After we save the Princess, what exactly are we going to do?”  
“You know that as well as I do, Ferris,” Light began. “We are going to do what the Woman in White asked of us. To find the other four Crystals and save the world. It’s going to be a long and dangerous journey but I know we can do it.”  
“Well, if you’re planning on traveling with Kari and doing this, then you might want to convince her into doing it. I’d rather not traveled with pissed off woman; especially her, understand?”  
“But what should I say to her?” Light asked him.  
“Oh, you’ll figure it out.” Ferris grinned as Kari and Mac could be seen moving towards them on the road. “You always do. It's not like this was the first time you've pissed her off with your antics."  
Light almost hung his head. Ferris had a point. You would think the Red Mage would make her angrier the most.  
“Did you guys miss us?” Kari asked, slinging the pack she carried back up on her back.  
“Of course,” Ferris continued to grin. “Did you get what we needed?”  
“Yeah,” Kari nodded. “I also grabbed some food for the princess. I’m sure that she’s afraid, so food will do her good when we find her.”  
“Oh, aren’t you sweet?” Ferris ruffled her hair. “Let’s get this party started, shall we?”  
“The Chaos Shrine is northwest of here,” Mac told them as he began to lead the way out of the village. “It’s not far. If we move fast, we’ll be there in about an hour.”  
“You’d think they’d give us a couple of horses to use,” Kari sighed. “We’d get there and back faster.  
“Don’t worry,” Light smiled. “We’ll be back here in good time.”  
“Well, if we do get back here, I want some damn horses before we go off on the rest of this damn journey. My ass won’t be walking the entire way,” Ferris growled, moving after his brother.  
Kari gave a laugh as she followed as well.   
Ferris’ face was the first thing she remembered seeing. According to his mother, she had been found wondering the forest beside their small little village and had taken her in. The six year old remembered nothing before that and so she had lived with Ferris and his family since. Light was already friends with the brothers and she was gladly accepted into their little trio. Without Ferris’ comedy, Kari didn’t know how much things would change, but she did know that it would have been different.   
Light and the others were her family, no matter where she came from. Mac was her older brother and though Ferris was older than her, he was like a loveable little brother. As for Light, though, it would be a lie to say that she didn’t have feelings for the man in armor, but he saw her as a sister and so she wouldn’t say a thing. She didn’t want to change that.  
That was also a reason that Kari didn’t like the idea of this mission. She didn’t want any of them to get hurt doing this. Sure, they had done a few little, small missions before, but for them to be the Warriors of Legend? She didn’t want to believe it. She didn’t want them to get hurt; that’s why she had gone with them. She wasn’t going to let anything lay a single finger on them.   
Goblins and other types of creatures littered the countryside so they had a little practice before they reached the Chaos Shrine. Mac had been right in it not being too far off from the castle.  
“They’re supposed to be inside,” Light began. “Are you ready for this?”  
“As ready as I’ll ever be,” Kari admitted. “Let’s go save the girl and get back to the city before nightfall; I’d rather not have to deal with the monsters that come out at night again.”  
“I agree with that,” Ferris shoved his way into the shrine. He gave a shiver, remembering what had happened the last time they had encountered the monsters in the dark. He had accidently set fire to Mac's buttocks; and then couldn't sit on his own for what felt like a week afterwards after his brother was done with him.  
The Chaos Shrine was old and the walls were crumbling as bats and other types of creatures moved around through the dark corridors. The Shrine only had one floor but it was littered with a few treasures here and there, but there was nothing that really interesting until they hit the main door.  
“Are you serious?” Ferris cried. “After going through every inch of this damn place, the door we were looking for was three feet away from the entrance?!”  
“We found gold, right?” Kari grinned at him. “So stop complaining.”  
“Silence,” Mac hissed at them, standing by the door next to Light. Ferris and Kari exchanged a look and dropped their banter.  
“The king will have no choice but to exchange the kingdom for his daughter’s life,” A deep voice came from the other side of the door. “Cornelia will be ours!”  
“It’s interesting,” Another voice joined in, this time it held a lighter tone; feminine. “I always thought that the Knights were stronger than that.”  
“It would seem that way, but they’re nothing against you, let alone me.”  
“Quite full of yourself, huh?” The woman chuckled.   
“But of course; you’ve witnessed my power firsthand. Is there much else you can say?”  
“I suppose not,” Kari could almost imagine a dark form giving a shrug. “It doesn’t matter, either way. Now we just sit and wait. I wonder what they’ll do; send more guards or hire some new people?”  
“Well, why don’t we ask out friends behind the door?” The deep voice asked.  
“Why not indeed?”  
Fear struck Kari’s heart. If the two of them already knew that they were there, then that meant they were good; really good!   
~There’s no way we’re going to stand a chance, is there?~ She sighed, dropping her head.  
“Well, no use in staying hidden, right?” Ferris asked, opening the door without another hesitation. Mac and Light moved in first before Kari and Ferris followed, taking in the new forms.   
The first thing that Kari noticed was the teal-haired girl that seemed to be passed out on the floor behind the duo that stood there, facing them as bats flew around the ceiling above them. That had to be Princess Sarah, but that’s not who grabbed Kari’s attention.   
The deep voice had come from a man, but his face couldn’t be seen. He was dressed in a suit of armor, a dark silver, set with blue jewels on his shoulder, wrists and groin. With a matching cape held with a gold clasp as his helmet was distinctly horned, reaching out far.   
It was the woman that grabbed Ferris’ attention, though. Enough for him to let out a whistle. The woman held short blonde hair and light blue eyes with pale skin that seemed to glow, despite the dark area they were in. Dressed in white and gold armor, it was nowhere near as large as her partner’s armor.  
“You’re Zera?” Ferris asked, staring at her with hearts in his eyes. “How the hell you got stuck with that guy, I’ll never understand,” He shoved a thumb at Garland. “If you want a real man, I’m right here, baby!”  
As Kari, Mac, and Light all face-palmed, Zera let out a laugh while Garland grunted.  
“Hmph. The king’s lapdogs. Do you have any idea who you’re messing with? You really think you have what it takes to cross swords with ME? Very well…I, Garland, will knock you all down!!”  
“Didn’t waste any time, did he?” Kari growled as the man pulled out his sword and rushed forward. "Perhaps hitting on his girlfriend wasn't such a bright idea, Ferris!"  
“Mac and I will take care of Garland,” Light began, pulling out his own sword. Mac had done gone ahead and ran forward to hold Garland off from reaching the others. “Ferris, you take care of the woman. Kari, get the princess out of the way of battle and help Ferris.”  
“Oh yeah,” Ferris grinned, whipping his staff out. “This is gonna be good; I can feel it.”  
“Yeah, yeah,” Kari waved a hand, grabbing her short sword. “Let’s just get this over with.”  
“Oh, such confidence,” Zera grinned. “I like that. It makes victory all the sweeter.”  
Garland and Zera both lived up to their ranks, no problem. Though he was dressed in armor that looked to weigh immensely, he was still fast enough to where Mac and Light both had a problem to landing a good hit on him. And if they thought Garland was fast, Ferris and Kari were having a hell of a time with Zera. If they weren’t enemies, Ferris felt that he and Zera would have gotten along swell. Both of them were shooting off jokes, despite the wounds they were receiving. Zera didn’t have as near many as Ferris of Kari,barely a dent really, but there was still several on her armor.  
“I told you,” Kari panted as she slid to a stop. “We’re nothing against these guys!”  
“So, one of you is smart,” Zera grinned, placing a hand on her hip. “Run on back home, children. All this is, is pointless.”  
“All they’re doing is using physical attacks,” Ferris took a deep breath. “Both of them. If I could…Kari, do you think you could distract her for a little bit?”  
“No problem,” Kari wiped sweat from her head. “Just make it quick.”  
“You know me,” He grinned. Rolling her eyes, she turned and faced Zera, gripping her short sword tighter.   
“Not bad, for a little girl,” Zera began. “Reminds me a bit of myself when I first joined the Knights. Tell me, why are you fighting? Is there a reason behind it all? A reason for you to do so?”  
“Is that really a question that you should be asking at this moment? It is four to two, you know,”  
Zera gave a laugh, as if truly enjoying herself. “All right, all right,” She switched her rapier to her left hand. “The gloves are off then, I suppose.”  
Kari felt her face grow white. If Zera was truly left-handed, and she was that good with her right hand, then she was completely screw-  
The bright light grabbed her attention and she watched as fire rammed into Zera’s side, knocking her body over into the pillar on the other side of the room.  
“Zera!” Garland’s cry reached Kari first before his form did, catching the woman as she crumbled to the ground. Giving a roar, he turned to glare at the one closest to him.  
Kari got ready for an attack from the man in armor, but Ferris shot him with a fireball as well and a look of shock formed on her face as the second body crumbled to the floor.  
“That can’t be it, can it?” Kari asked, giving Garland’s arm a kick. “All it took, after all that fighting, was a damn fireball? From HIM?! I’d understand if it was from a sage or something, but Ferris?”  
“Thanks, Kari,” Her brother glared at her. “I feel the love.”   
“Still, though! The top two knights of the Cornelia Kingdom? I don’t believe it!”  
“She has a point,” Mac commented.  
Light turned from them and went to the Princess. “It’s all right now; you’re safe.”  
“You…You’ve come to rescue me? I don’t know how to thank you…”  
“I know how you can repay me,” Ferris grinned but Mac whacked him in the head, cutting his off as the Princess flushed.  
“I am Sarah,” She told them. “Princess of Cornelia.”  
“Yes, we know this,” Kari grunted, crossing her arms. “Let’s just hurry up and get you back to your father. You’ll feel safer, I’m sure.”  
Sarah nodded her head. She gave another glance at the two knights on the ground before turning to follow the others out of the Chaos Shrine and into the open field, her mind turning like gears.   
Something was CLEARLY off.   
You could feel the fear on the air around the princess. She had just been kidnapped by two people she trusted, watched many people she grew up around killed before her, and was now in the protection of four people that she didn’t even know. Ferris noticed this and tried to cheer the young teen up as much as he could, spewing jokes and other stupid things. As the small return to the castle continued, Sarah’s mood got better. The moment the guards caught site of the five of them from the barriers of the town they must have hurried into the castle to announce their return; everyone was waiting on them.  
“That’s the first time anyone’s ever defeat Garland; especially with Zera by his side. You must allow me to show my gratitude.” The Chancellor then went into a speech about how he was sorry for saying that they weren’t the Sacred Warriors but that’s not what they were really interested in and so they turned to the king as he finally got done greeting his daughter.  
“Thank you for returning my daughter to my side,” The King bowed his head. “There can be no doubt that you are the Warriors of Light from Lukahn’s prophecy! You should hear the prophecy in its entirety. Ahem, if I may…

_“When darkness veils the world, four Warriors of Light shall come.  
If they cannot gather the shards of light, the darkness will consume all.  
The four Crystals will never shine again…”_

“More Crystals? Really?” Kari asked.  
“Yeah, isn’t four enough?” Ferris agreed.  
“These are different,” The Chancellor told them. “They’re the Crystals of Light; they were created with the world.”  
“Now, I hear that a Crystal can be found on the continent to our North,” The King continued. “Restoring light to the Crystals is our only hope of ridding the world of the monsters which plague it! I will have the bridge to the north rebuilt, as I promised. Rest here for a few days. I pray that you succeed in restoring light to the four Crystals…and to the world.”  
Giving a nod, Light turned to leave the throne room but Sarah caught him as he moved past her.  
“This lute has been entrusted to the princesses of Cornelia for many generations. When they abducted me, Garland had taken the lute as well. I want you to have it. It may aid you in your journey.” Sarah smiled. Light took it with a smile before turning to follow the others.  
“Now, it’s going to take a little while fore that bridge to be built.” Kari commented.  
“The bridge isn’t that bad,” Mac replied. “The King said he would get his men on it right away; it’ll only take a few days.”  
“Yeah, I’ll believe that when I see it,” Ferris snorted.  
“Until then, I suggest we rest in the city,” the knight told his companions. “A few days rest before the rest of this journey begins should be soothing, anyway.”  
“True,” Kari stretched her arms. “A shower sounds really good about right now.”  
“I agree,” Mac nodded.   
“You think they’ll make us pay for it?” Ferris asked. “We are the Warriors of Light, you know. Perhaps they'll offer us another type of service. There were a few ladies I spied-”  
“Shut it, Ferris,” Kari gave him a shove, ignoring the looks they received from the villagers.


	5. Pirate Problems, Round Two

They stayed in Cornelia for three more days before continuing on their quest. As the four Warriors of Light, they felt overwhelmed by the great task destiny had placed before them. They did not even know the true significance of the four crystals they held in their hands…  
The crystals that once, long ago, held a light that shone so brilliantly.   
The time for their journey had come. The time to cast off the veil of darkness and bring the world once more into light…

_“When you walk away, you don’t hear me say, please! Oh baby, don’t go!”_

Kari couldn’t help but laugh as she stared up at the man dancing across the field ahead of her. Ferris has turned the travel to the next city into a karaoke and was singing at the top of his lungs as he danced and skipped ahead of the others, off key from the tune or not.  
“I doubt that I’ll ever get tired of him,” She told herself, shaking her head as she continued to laugh. She normally would have joined him happily, but she just wasn’t in the mood today.   
They had been traveling for two days, having gone to the right of a large set of mountains and heading east through a thick forest. Ogres and Warg Wolfs joined in battles with the Goblins so at least they were being entertained in other ways beside Ferris’ singing and dancing.  
“Kari,” Light’s voice made the girl turn to see that the young warrior was now walking beside her as Mac moved to catch up to his brother. “Are you still upset with me?”  
She knew that this conversation would take place after leaving Cornelia. She had originally planned out her choice words for him but as he spoke, they faltered. They always did when it came to Light. She couldn't help it.  
“I wouldn’t call it being upset,” Kari answered after a brief pause. “More annoyed than anything.”  
He gave a nod. “That’s understandable. I admit that the sudden movement on this mission was…strange.”  
“Strange? It was stupid. That woman could have been leading us into a trap. Garland and Zera could have killed us. I’m surprised that they didn’t! They must have been fake or imposters or something!”   
~That would actually be a good explanation.~ She told herself. If those two Knights were strong enough to kill so many people that they, themselves, trained, to destroy a whole city, how could four brats like themselves defeat them?  
“You think she’s leading us into a trap?” Light asked.  
“Perhaps. What I can’t understand is why? Why us?”  
“Perhaps she spoke the truth in us being the Warriors of Light.”  
“Yeah, and I’m pregnant,” She grunted.  
He blinked. “You are?”  
Kari looked at him like he was an idiot as her face turned red. “Of course not, you moron!” She cursed under her breath as he gave her a small smile. “She’s a woman that just popped up to us in the middle of our last mission and you believed every word that she said.”  
“She had the four crystals with her.”  
“I know, but that’s pretty much all we know about her.”  
“I know that, but there’s a feeling that I have…something that’s telling me that we can trust her. I’m normally right about this, aren’t I?” He asked her.  
He was, but still!   
“And what are you going to do if we hit something that we can’t handle?”  
“If it gets to be too much, I promise that I will pull out; all of us.” Light replied. “So please, just…trust me; and smile.”  
“You owe me,” She told him after a moment of silence, un able to hold back the small upturn of her lips.  
He gave a smile in return. ~I always do~

“Hey, it’s a ship,” Ferris pointed out.  
“You think we can get them to give us a ride?” Kari asked.  
They had come up onto the outskirts of Pravoka and were currently staring at the docks.  
“You know,” Ferris began. “I think that I’ve seen that ship before.”  
“Well, we did have a dock where we lived,” Light pointed out to him. “You’ve probably seen it there.”  
“True,”  
“Let’s go,” Mac told them. “We can find them and ask them.”  
The moment they entered the city, though, they knew that there was a problem. The civilians were nowhere in sight and for the ones that could be seen from the windows of their homes, they looked scared out of their minds. Mac had disappeared into a potions shop for some more supplies and returned with the reason why the village was in such chaos; pirates.  
“Well, that explains where I had seen the ship before,” Ferris commented, pointing ahead of them.  
All talk came to a halt at the sight of the group of men that stood before them just outside of the inn. The stench of smoke, booze, and filth could be recieved from over where they stood.  
“Oh no,” Kari placed a hand on her hip. “Not you again.”  
At her voice, the pirate wearing the hat, proclaiming himself as captain, turned to face the four of them.  
“You brats!” It seemed that they weren’t the only ones that remembered the skirmish that they and these pirates had endured in the bar back a few months ago in Luthonia. “Ye’ve got cannon balls of steel to be takin’ on the great Pirate Bikke!” The man, growled, not at all pleased to see them.  
“Yeah, funny you can say that after we beat your asses out of Luthonia last time, remember?” Ferris grinned.  
“Keelhaul ‘em, boys!”  
“What the fuck did that mean?” Kari asked.  
“Well, from the nine pirates now running at us, I’m gonna say that they want to kill us.” Light commented.  
“I second that.” Ferris nodded, summoning fire up in his hands and shooting it out at them with a fling of his hand.  
Sharing a look, Kari and Light joined in, Mac right behind them. These guys were pretty much just a kick and flick and they were out. It was kinda sad, really.  
“All right, now here’s what’s going to happen. We can kill you,” Mac began, his foot on the captain’s chest. “Or we can use you. Which would you prefer?”  
“I be most sorry, young masters. I’ll be making no more fuss, I swear.”  
“You know, you said that last time, too,” Ferris replied with a grin, eating up the man’s fear.  
“I mean it this time, I swears I do.” Bikke cried. “Just don’t kill me!”  
“Listen here now,” Mac continued. “We’re going to use you and your ship. You’re going to be our mode of transportation through the ports while we’re on our mission. If you even think about backstabbing us or bailing on us and leaving, then next time I find you I will grind your bones into dust, understand?”  
“Damn, my brother is scary,” Ferris watched as Bikke looked like he was about to piss himself under Mac’s gaze. “I love it!”  
“I think we all do,” Kari chuckled.  
“We’ll rest here for the night and head out in the morning,” Light gave the pirate Captain a firm look. “Be in port at dawn.” Mac let the man go and he took off for his ship, his men, wounded and worse, following after him.  
“You think he’ll be there in the morning?” Kari asked, watching after them.  
“He’ll be there,” Mac assured her, turning from the dock to the inn before them. “The three of you can go ahead and get a room; I’ll get the rest of our supplies. There’s no telling how long we’ll be on that ship and I seriously doubt that any of us would like to take use of their supplies.”  
“Ain’t that the truth,” Ferris agreed, turning to the Inn. “Be careful, brother.”  
“You sure that you don’t want one of us to come with you?” Kari asked him.  
Mac gave her a smile. “Go and rest.”  
She gave a nod and followed Ferris to the Inn, Light following her. They got a room that carried four beds and Ferris and Kari were playing a card game as Light read on his bed when Mac had returned with his bags. He could barely hold them all.  
“Good god, Mac!” Ferris cried at the sight. “Did you really think we needed that much?”  
Mac gave him a look. “Calm down.”  
“Where did you get all the money for that?” Kari asked him.  
“It was given,” The monk answered them. “As a reward for taking care of the pirates.”  
“Sweet!” Ferris cried, jumping in the bags and searching through them.   
“We normally don’t take rewards like this,” Light commented, looking over from his book.  
“They insisted,” Mac sat down at the table. “I couldn’t refuse.”  
“Hmmm.”  
“Hey, look! Alcohol! And soap!” The red mage cried happily.  
“He’s like a little kid,” Kari sighed, standing from the floor and sitting on the edge of her bed.   
“It’s annoying,” Mac grunted under his breath as his brother continued searching through the bags.  
“I think it’s cute.”  
“I agree,” Kari nodded, but then she froze. The voice was female, and it came from beside her. Jumping from her bed, she and the others took notice of the new woman that had seen sitting there beside her. “God! Don’t do that!”  
The woman gave a chuckle. “My apologies.”  
It was the Woman in White. Long golden hair and light blue eyes, she was wearing a long white dress with an ornate golden crest with blue stones around the waist. The design rose to her collar and Kari was sure that it continued on down her back but she was wearing a white cloak, hood pulled up over her hair, to hide it.  
“What are you doing here?” Kari demanded.  
“I came to give my applause to taking care of Cornelia,” She answered them. “Exquisite job.”  
“Yeah, well, it wasn’t exactly that hard,” Kari replied, crossing her arms.  
“Garland and Zera did not…live up to the tales of their strengths,” Light agreed, trying to word it better with a sharp look at the other woman.   
“Still, congratulations,” The Woman in White closed her eyes for a moment, brushing aside their comments. “I see that you have begun the quest. It is why I have come to you again.”  
“I take it you’re gonna be our guide in this whole ‘save the world’ scheme?” Ferris commented, taking another, calmer look, at the bottle of alcohol in his hands.  
“In a way, yes.” She gave a nod. “I see that you have acquired yourself a ship, so that will just help with it all.” She took a breath. “Your next task shall be in Elfheim.”  
“Elfheim?” Kari repeated. “We’re going to see the elves?”  
“Yes,” She answered. “I’m afraid that a feud has broken out between the elves and the prince is…in need of help. Bringing peace to the elves again will bring you another step closer to shining light upon this world again.”   
“After saving the prince,” Light began. “Are you going to show yourself to us again?”  
The Woman in White gave a small smile. “If it is done correctly, then yes. Do not fear; I have faith in you, Warriors of Light.”  
And then she was just gone. It was like she was never even there to begin with.   
“Creepy woman,” Ferris commented. “But she’s hot, so I’ll take it.”  
Kari rolled her eyes before falling back on her bed, staring up at the ceiling with her arms crossed behind her head. “So, I guess it’s off to Elfheim?”  
“Yes,” Light closed his book. “We set sail at dawn.”


	6. Not All Elves Are Sweet, Part 1

“You mean they actually stayed?” Kari’s voice was in shock as she stared at the pirate ship still in port that next morning.  
“Maybe they knew better than to chance Mac’s threat?” Ferris offered.   
"Or they set a trap.” Light frowned.  
“They couldn’t beat us yesterday,” Mac commented, walking towards the dock. “They won’t beat us today.”  
The moment they reached the ship, a bridge was let down for them and Bikke was ready to greet them at the top.   
“Good morn’, me fine warriors! Ready to set sail?”  
“You’re happy this morning.” Kari grumbled at him.  
“But of course! I thought about what you offered last night,” Bikke continued. “And I have decided.”  
“Decided?” Ferris repeated him.  
“Yes. If you would like for us to be your mode of transportation then we would like to ask for a fee.”  
“A fee…” Light looked at him like he had just grown a third eye. “Other than letting you keep your life?”  
“But of course. If you are taking up our daily time, there will be no way for us to gather gold to get food and other things. How will we survive?”  
“Fishing and hunting in the wild when we make port.” Ferris answered them.  
“I like the idea.” Mac cut them off. “We’ll do it.”  
“What?” The others all looked at him.  
“We’ll give you everything that we don’t need off of our missions, deal?”  
“What you don’t need, sir?” Bikke frowned.  
“The four of us travel, meaning what we don’t use we either give to the people or trade them for other things that we do need. Why not let them have it? At least now when know they won’t just run off and leave us behind.”  
“Oh and how is that?” Ferris asked.  
But Light understood Mac’s words. “They’re greedy.” He turned back to the pirate. “What we don’t need, agreed?”  
Bikke thought about it for a moment before giving a nod. “Agreed.”  
The pirates had been working all night to set up some kind of separate area for the four of them and they knew to keep their hands to themselves on their things; and off of Kari.  
Any monsters that attacked were quickly taken care of by Ferris’ thunder magic but everyone was pleased when they were finally able to make port again. It was easy to see the tips of Elfheim castle about an hour away from the port. A few pirates joined them on the journey to the village to stock up on food and other things but they drifted apart when the group headed for the castle.  
It was a small, yet cozy village and the elves all took notice of the newcomers but mostly ignored them as they went on with their daily duties; until they reached the guards at the front of the castle.  
Light moved forward. “We are here to see the Prince.”  
The two men exchanged a look before they glanced back at the four. “Another set of travelers wanting to give their try with the sleeping Prince?” The guard snorted. “Here’s my advice; get out of here before you get killed.”  
“Sleeping?” Ferris repeated him. “That’s all that’s wrong with him? Bang a couple of pots and pans.”  
The guard slapped a hand to his face. “Don’t you think we’ve tried that? Get out of here before I-”  
“Please,” Kari took a step forward and placed her hand on the man’s arm. “I understand how worried and frustrated you are. I’m sure several have come, looking for payment and honors in finding a way to help your prince, but you must believe me when I tell you that we’re after none of that. We just want to help. Please, give us a chance.”  
The guard stared at her for a moment before glancing at his partner and jerking his head; the gate was pulled open. “Be quick about it.”  
“Thank you.” Kari let go of him and moved into the castle grounds.  
“Smooth,” Ferris grinned at his sister. “You’ll be breaking hearts if you keep going around like that.”  
“Shut it,” She elbowed him in the stomach.   
Another guard came forward and led them to the Prince’s chambers. Only the healer was there with the sleeping elf. Kari moved forward and took a good look. His golden hair was littered graceful around him as the covers were pulled up to his chin.  
“This totally reminds me of that fairy tale I heard as a kid.” Ferris commented.  
Light leaned towards him. “And which one is that?”  
“Where the princess gets placed under a spell and only a kiss can wake her; Kari, give it a shot!”  
“Shut it, Ferris!” The woman’s hiss was fiercer this time as she looked at the healer. “What exactly happen? Did he just fall asleep and not wake up?”  
The man gave a sigh. “For years now, things between us and the dark elves haven’t been well. About five years ago Astos, the king of the dark elves, came to the kingdom, claiming to be searching for peace, but he tricked us and placed the spell on our Prince. For five years we haven’t found a way to free him. There must be some medicine that can rouse the sleeping, but where?” He glanced at the four. “Please, will you not attempt to aid our slumbering Prince?”  
“We can try,” Light told him. “Where is this Astos?”  
“We’re not quite sure when his Keep is. All we know is that it’s North; past the mountains.”  
“Oh, that’s a load of help!” Ferris growled, turning to stomp from the room. “Why can’t anything ever be simple and right in front of us?”  
Kari gave a giggle and moved to catch up to her brother. “Then it wouldn’t be as fun.”  
“Coming from the one that did want to go on this journey in the first place?”  
“Eh? I got over it. Since Garland and Zera weren’t such a trouble, and they won’t be back to bite us in the ass, I think this will be rather entertaining.”

(Epic foreshadowing, XDXD)

Having gathered what they needed for the next part of their journey in less than an hour, they set out for the path through the mountains, going to keep their eyes open for anyone and anything. It took them two days to move past the mountains completely, and another day to more through a plain before they found a Keep up in the Western part. But it wasn’t what they had been expecting. They were expecting a mimicry from Elfheim, just with dark elves, but there was nothing inside of this ruined Keep, except for a human man sitting in the ruined throne room.  
“What is this? Travelers? This far West?” The man asked, standing.  
“I apologize for intruding,” Light began but the man shook his head, waving his apology aside.   
“No, please, it is good to come into contact with other people again. Please, tell me, what bring you here?”  
“We’re searching for a jerk named Astos. He says he’s some kind of King but I seriously doubt he is,” Ferris told him with a shrug.  
“Of the Dark elves,” The man replied with a foul look on his face. “Is what he is king of, and I’m afraid that I’ve had a bit of a run-in with him myself. He’s the one that did this to me. I was tricked by Astos and know my kingdom is ruined! If I could only retrieve the crown from the Marsh Cave, I would be able to restore my castle. Might you bring me the crown?”  
“My apologies,” Light shook his head. “But we are currently on another quest at the moment for the elves of Elfheim.”  
“Trying to find Astos to awaken the prince, are you?” the man asked them. “It’s a dangerous journey, you know. None have returned from it; not even one.”  
“So we have heard.” Kari frowned, crossing her arms. Something about this man just… She blinked. Tilting her head to the side a bit, she took a better look and realized that she hadn’t been wrong. A pair of bright, yellow eyes were staring at her from the shadow of the ruined throne. “What the-”  
“It seems you have a friend,” Mac began, having noticed their hiding companion as well.   
“A friend?” The king turned. “Ah, yes. More of an adopted son, if you would believe. Assad, don’t hide.. Come greet our guests.”  
They all watched as a small form slipped into the light and Kari let a smile break out. It was a little boy; a dark elf, but a child none the less. He looked embarrassed and nervous to be placed before them and rubbed his left arm as he kept his eyes on the ground.  
“A dark elf?” Light asked the other man, taking in the child's darks skin and silver hair.  
“A child,” he replied. “Race does not matter. I found him in the wild and so I took him in.” He fell silent for a moment before an idea seemed to come to him. “If I were to give you what you needed to awaken the prince, would you bring me the crown?”  
“Wait, you had something all these years and yet have done nothing?” Ferris demanded.  
“No, of course not! But I know where you could get something; but I won’t tell you where that is unless you bring me my crown! It has the powers to return my kingdom back to its former glory! Please! The Prince has been asleep for five years! A few more days isn’t going to hurt him!”  
“You know, I don’t like saying it, but the guy’s got a point.” Kari sighed.  
“I agree. And if he’s lying to us about the stuff to save the prince then we can kick his ass.” Ferris nodded in agreement.  
Light glanced back at the man. “Where exactly is this Marsh Cave?”  
“Only about a day’s journey south from here. You must have just missed it on the way up here. He thought for another moment. “I know! Assad here can lead you there. He knows the way!”  
“The child?” They all repeated, glancing at the young dark elf.   
“No,” Mac shook his head. “It’s too dangerous.”  
“I can take care of myself!” The monk glanced back at the young boy to see he decided to finally lift his head and glare at him, a firm look on his face. “I’m not scared of the monsters out there!”  
“But still,” Kari began. “It’s too dangerous. I’d rather not take the risk of-”  
“You’ll never find it without him,” The king decided to finish the conversation. “Not easily, anyway. Do you really want to risk that chance as well?”  
Light was silent for a moment, thinking. Ferris glanced at him. “You’re not actually considering this, are you?”  
“If the child is so intent on coming, then there is nothing that we can do to change his mind. Having a guide out here in the wild wouldn’t be such a horrid idea, would it?”  
“But a child, Light?” Kari asked him.  
“We’ll keep him safe, Kari, so don’t worry.”  
“Then it’s done,” Mac turned to leave the ruined Keep. “Let’s go.”  
“Good wishes and safe return,” The king waved at them. Assad ran past them all, eager to be the first one out.  
“Thank God,” The dark elf growled, taking in a deep breath of air. “I hate that man. I can’t stand him.”  
“That’s not something very nice to say about the man that took you in out of the wild, now is it?” Kari asked, moving up beside him. He gave her a foul look and kicked at the dirt.  
“All right, brat,” Ferris began, moving up in front of the kid. “Listen. I don’t want no funny business. Just get us to this Marsh Cave so we can get the crown and get the hell out of there.”  
“Not scared, are you?” Assad asked.  
Ferris’ eyebrow twitched before he began to grind his fist into the top of the kid’s head. “What was that?”  
“Gah!”  
“Ferris,” Kari moved forward and pulled Assad away from him. “Stop being mean; then you really will scare him.”  
“Good,” The red mage growled, pulling on the front of his jacket.   
“Assad,” Light began, looking at the child again. “Where is the Marsh Cave?”  
“This way,” He turned from the group and began to lead them south through the plain. “Let’s go.”  
Mac was still for a moment as Ferris and Kari followed the boy; Light glanced back at him. “There’s something strange going on here.”  
“Indeed.” Light nodded.  
“Do you think the other two know?” Mac asked.  
Light gave a laugh. “Mac just like you and me, Kari and your dear brother knew the moment we stepped into that Keep.”


	7. Not All Elves Are Sweet, Part 2

“Assad. I like that name. I’ve never heard it before.”  
“Have you met dark elves before?”  
“No.”  
“Then that’s why you’ve never heard it.”  
“Hey, she’s just trying to talk to you brat. Stop being a jerk!”  
Light sighed and closed his eyes as Ferris grinded his fist into the top of the dark elf’s head once more. Kari scolded her brother before apologizing to the child again. They had camped for the night and the child had curled up into a ball and ignored them. Kari was trying to talk to him but all his answers or replies were snide and rude.  
Kari gave a sigh herself, watching as Ferris and Assad began to fight again. He might have been a kid, but Ferris held no restraints in knocking him around; if he could catch the little bastard before he climbed up on his back. He never used his magic, though. Mac gave his brother a smirk before he paused in his steps, staring up at the cave before them.  
“I suppose this is it,” He commented.  
“So it would seem,” Light nodded in agreement. He glanced at the child. “Is it?”  
Assad gave and as he slipped off of Ferris’ back. “Yes. The crown is in a treasure chest on the third floor.”  
“We’re going down into the dirt?” Ferris sighed. “This sucks.”  
“All right. Assad,” Kari placed her hands on the kid’s shoulders. “I want you to stay out here and wait for us. We’ll go right down to the third floor and come right back up as fast as we can.”  
“Wait? No!” Assad pulled away from her. “I’m not just going to stand here and wait on you! I’m going in too!”  
“But you’re a child.” She argued. “You can’t go in there. It’s too dangerous! There’s going to be monsters and even worse things than that in there!”  
“I’m not a child! I can take care of myself!” Assad dodged past them all and was first to enter the Marsh Cave.  
“Damn brat,” Ferris grunted, crossing his arms. “I say we wait a little while and wait for him to crawling back out to us.”  
“That’s just it,” Kari cried as she moved to follow the child inside. “What if he doesn’t come back out?”  
Light moved after her. “I agree. We’ll just have to find the child and drag him with us through the cave.”  
“Damn brat,” Ferris repeated as he moved inside. Mac shook his head and brought up the rear.  
More goblins littered the area, joined with bats and even more strange creatures that the Warriors had never seen before. The four stuck together, fighting through the monsters but they had no view of Assad until the third floor. He was standing in front of a door, as if waiting on them.  
“Stupid brat!” Ferris moved forward before anyone could say anything and gave the kid another whack on the head.  
“Stop hitting me!” Assad cried, rubbing the bump.  
“Then stop pissing me off! Running off like that was stupid! What if you had been attacked?”  
“But I wasn’t.” Assad answered him. “Besides, I can take care of myself!”  
“Stop arguing,” Light told them both and gave the boy a look. “Is this the chest?”  
“Yeah, let’s get this over with.” Assad pushed the door open and moved out of the way so they could step in.  
There was nothing there in the room, save for the figures in the middle. There was a chest, yes, but it was surrounded by stone statues of elven knights. Ferris raised a brow, taking a better look at them. “Really? This is it?”  
“Of course not,” Kari grunted. “Stop being a fool.”  
“I’m not a fool; I was just asking a question.”  
“Yeah; a foolish one.”  
“Both of you stop it.” Mac cut them off.  
“I want to go home!” Assad moved forward. “Stop being stupid and let’s-”  
“No!” Light cried, reaching for the child but the Dark Elf slipped into the circle of the statues before the warrior could grab him.  
Assad only had time to see one of the statues move before he threw his hands over his head. He heard a grunt and felt blood splatter on himself. Not feeling the pain he had been expecting, Assad opened his eyes to see Ferris’ red cloak before him as the red mage had jumped into the way, trying to block the statue’s attack with his staff. The statue’s blade and landed on the mage’s shoulder.  
“You alright, kid?” Ferris asked him.  
Assad was silent for a moment before his words stumbled out to him. “Y-yeah.”  
“Good. Now get back and watch how a real man fights.”  
Assad watched, backing up against the wall of the room, as a bright light erupted from the crystal on the top of Ferris’ staff and shoved the statue away from him.  
“You all right, Ferris?” Kari asked, pulling her blade free from her hip as Mac and Light readied the fight as well.  
“A little cut won’t bother me,” He answered. “Now, shall we?”  
The statues turned from elves into four squids with magic rods; Piscodemons, or so Mac called them. These ugly bastards could actually hit pretty hard, in both magic and punches, but in the end they were no match for the four Warriors of Light.  
“And that is that,” Ferris wiped his hands on his pants and faced the kid again. “See? Nothing to it.”  
Assad felt his lip tremble but he dropped his head and bit it instead. “Y-yeah. Nothing to it.”  
“Don’t worry kid,” The mage clapped a hand on his shoulder as Light retrieved the crown from the chest. “You’ll get stronger in no time.”  
“So back to the Keep, huh?” Kari sighed, crossing her arms as she spoke to Mac. “Should we leave the child outside when we return?”  
Mac glanced at her. Light had been right; she had known. And if she did, then Ferris did as well.   
“We’ll see what happens. I’d rather not kill a child but…”  
Kari gave a nod. She didn’t like the thought of killing a child, either, but…  
They set camp right outside the moment they reached fresh air again and it took another whole day to make their way back to the West Keep. In the hours of the day, Assad’s attitude seemed to change towards the four of them; most likely because Ferris had saved his life. He was smiling and laughing, and Ferris was happily teaching him a few level one spells. He was a fast learner and shocked them all in learning the Fire and Ice spells in only a few hours. But the moment that the West Keep came into View again, his unhappy air returned.  
“Now, let’s go give this moron his crown so we can get the potion to save the Prince,” Ferris commented, hands on his hips. “I want to see the Woman in White again.”  
“You and that woman,” Kari sighed. “You’d think you were in love.”  
“Ah, but I am,” Ferris sighed. “A woman of that beauty could have anyone, and I mean ANYONE, fall for her in a snap of her fingers. Why, she had me from the moment she locked eyes with me.”  
“Oh, be quiet.”  
“Um…” Light turned at Assad’s voice. The child looked afraid as he glanced at the Keep before turning back to the group. “I…”  
Light gave him a smile. “If you’re afraid, you may wait out here.” Assad looked surprised. “We’ll be back shortly.”  
“You mean you-”  
“Knew?” Ferris grinned. “But of course.”  
“Let’s go,” Mac led the way inside.   
Kari gave Assad a reassuring smile as she followed the others, leaving the child to wait for them outside.  
The dark, ominous feeling was more livid now and it got stronger and stronger the closer they moved to the throne room. Inside, the ‘King’ was waiting for them, a longing look on his face. It turned into a look of relief and joy as he set eyes upon them and the crown that was in Light’s hands.  
“You did it! You retrieved the crown!”  
“Doubted us, did you?” Ferris asked.  
“Foolish.” Mac commented.  
“I take it this is the right crown?” Light lifted it up in his hands.  
“Yes, yes! Of course! Give it to me!”  
“Aren’t you wondering where Assad is?” Kari asked him. “And here’s a question for you; why was it being protected but elven magic?”  
“The Dark Elf King-”  
“Pure Elven Magic.” Ferris glared at him.  
“Ah…well…I…” Knowing that he had been caught, the man began to laugh. “You fools fell right into my trap! I AM Astos, king of the dark elves!” They watched as he transformed into his true, creepy self.  
“Changing your look didn’t help,” Ferris called to him. “You’re still an ugly bastard.”  
“Laugh all you want, but with the combined power of the crown you now hold and the crystal eye I already possess I will become the TRUE elf king! It is useless to resist me! I can take what is mine by sheer force!”  
Kari didn’t want to admit it, but Astos was hard; harder than Zera and Garland and for some reason that made her mad. This Dark Elf was fast, hopping around and skittering in and around them like a damn spider. He could use magic, too, and Light found that out the hard way when his death magic slammed into him, forcing him into the wall.   
“You didn’t think this was going to be easy, did you?” Astos demanded with a cackle. “There’s no way you’ll defeat me.”  
“Yeah, keeping running your suck,” Ferris grunted at him before looking oover at Kari and Mac. “Shall we?”  
Kari gave a grin, knowing what her brother was talking about. “The ol’ Up and Over?”  
Mac gave his own grin in agreement. “The Up and Over.”  
Light, giving a sigh, just stayed by the wall and let the trio have their fun. The Up and Over was a trick, one of the few, that the three of them had created in their early years of fighting together. It was where Kari, the lightest of her and Mac, would walk across these little wind platforms that Ferris would create to place her on one side of their enemy while his attention was held by Mac. Or if the enemy followed her, then Mac would attack him from behind. After the duo had the enemy pinned between them, Ferris would attack him as well. Light hadn’t seen it fail yet.  
“You guys are amazing.”  
Light turned his head to see that Assad and moved into the Keep. “I thought you were told to stay outside.”  
“How could I with this going on inside?”  
“Curiosity killed the cat, you know,” He crossed his arms, watching as the trio put an end to the Dark Elf King.   
“You mean this is all we get?” Ferris demanded a few minutes later, holding up a crystal eye in his left hand and taking a good look at it. “Bastard was never going to give us something to help the Prince, was he?”  
“Of course not,” Kari answered him. “He’s the one that put him under the spell, remember?”  
Mac glanced at the child beside Light. “Do you know something?”  
Assad glanced at the ground for a moment, feeling a little embarrassed at all eight eyes on him. “The crystal eye won’t help save the prince,” The young boy told them. “But I know someone who can.”  
Matoya was who Assad had led them too. They had returned to the Pirates and got to a port a little north of Cornelia. Matoya was a witch that could only see with the help of her crystal eye. The old hag wasn’t too happy to see Assad, seeming as how the little brat was the one that had stolen her Crystal Eye for Astos in the first place, but she did give them what they were searching for, happily or not. It was called a jolt tonic and the group wasted no time in returning to the Elf Kingdom to see if it would help the prince.  
The healer took the bottle. “This jolt tonic may be just what we need to break the curse and awaken the prince! I will try it at once!” He moved towards the bed but then paused for a moment before turning back to the four warriors.  
“What is it?” Light asked him.  
“Well, it’s just…the prince is asleep.”  
Ferris blinked. “Yes, we know that. That was the whole point behind us going to go and get the tonic.”  
“Well, it’s just that…the prince can’t drink it if he’s asleep…so…”  
“Ah,” Kari gave a frown. “That does pose a problem.”  
“That’s why…if you would be so kind, my lady,” The healer lifted the jolt tonic towards Kari.  
The woman turned dark red but it was Light’s cry of ‘What?!’ that made the healer even more worried about what he was asking.  
“Well, if someone were to do it, I’m sure that the Prince would rather it be a woman instead of myself.”  
“Then go and grab one of the female elves out in the village.” Ferris growled, his face as livid as Light’s had been. Though the silver-haired man had calmed himself down as Mac looked thoughtfully at Kari.  
“Well, the thing is, all the women are either already married or too young.”  
“That has to be impossible,” Ferris continued to argue. “You mean to tell me that there’s not even ONE woman out there in the village that would willingly be able to do this?”  
“Ferris,” Kari tried to calm her brother down, but their elder brother cut her off.  
“Let her do it, Ferris.”  
“What?” All four in the room looked at Mac.  
“If the Prince does wake up, then he’ll owe us even more if it works. If Kari succeeds, then he’ll be even more in our debt.”  
“You say it like we’re holding him for ransom,” Light growled, crossing his arms.  
“What do you say, my lady?” The healer looked back to the blushing woman. “Will you save the prince?”  
Kari’s eyes traveled all over the place, as if looking for a way out of this trap. Assad moved forward and grabbed her hand. She looked down.   
“Please do it. Fix what my father did to these people.”  
The woman stared at the child for a moment before giving a sigh and moved forward to take the tonic from the healer.   
“All of you owe me for this!”  
Mac watched with a straight face as his young sister moved up to the side of the prince’s bed and took a seat. He could see the conflicts rushing in her face and eyes before she poured the Jolt tonic in her mouth and leaned over the elf’s face.  
“Bet you wish that was you right now, don’t ya?” Ferris grinned at the man beside him. Light didn’t say a word; just pressed his lips tightly together as he glanced away from the scene before them.  
Mac rolled his eyes at his brother’s comment and continued to watch as the tonic was transferred from Kari to the sleeping elf. Moments later Kari gave a jump and pulled back, wiping the spilled tonic from her lips as she moved off of the bed. Moments later the elf prince sat up, rubbing his eyes.  
“Your Highness!” The healer cried as the prince dropped his hands.  
“I was having…a terrible nightmare…Am I still…dreaming?” The prince looked at Kari. “Or is this beautiful maiden truly my savior?”  
Kari, who had now disposed of what was left of the Jolt tonic back into the bottle, couldn’t even bring herself to look at the elf before her as her face got darker and darker.  
“Hey, it wasn’t just her, you know,” Ferris decided to drag the prince’s eyes away from his sister. “All of us went through hell to get that tonic for you; even killed Astos for ya.”  
“King Astos is dead?” The prince cried in shock. “But-” His eyes landed on Assad and they narrowed. “I see that his son is still alive. The last of his kind. Dispo-”  
“Wait!” Kari began, running forward and placing a hand on the child’s head. “If not for him, we wouldn’t have found the Jolt Tonic in the first place! Don’t hurt him.”  
“Assad here led us to the March Caves to retrieve your crown and led us to the witch Matoya to receive the tonic.” Mac told him. “You owe him as much as you owe us.”  
The Prince stared at them for a moment before turning away. Pushing himself to his feet, the healer went to catch him as he stumbled but the prince held him away, regaining the use of his legs on his own. The group watched in silence and couldn’t help but smile as he bowed to them.  
“You have my utmost thanks,” The Prince told them. “Including you, beautiful maiden. May I have the name of my savior?”  
“Didn’t we just tell him we all did it?” Ferris commented to Mac. His brother shrugged as Kari continued to be embarrassed.  
“Kari.”  
“Kari?” He repeated in shock. He glanced at the other three before turning back to the woman before him. “Surely not the same Kari that the Woman in White spoke of?”  
“Woman in White?” Kari repeated him.  
“How do you know her?” Light asked, taking a step forward.  
“She came to see me as I slept,” The Prince answered him, lifting his head to think back on the dreams. “She told me that the time of the Warriors of Light from legend would be coming soon to save the land. Kari, Ferris, Light, and Mac, she said their names would be.” He looked at them again. “Is it truly you?”  
“Looks like it doesn’t it?” Ferris grinned, pulling out his crystal and showing it off again.  
The Prince turned and gave an even deeper bow. “You’re the Legendary warriors!” The prince blinked in shock as he straightened back up. “I shall follow the legend as it has been told to me and my forefathers. The time to pass on the mystic key to its rightful owners has come at last.” Waving his hand at the healer, the man ran from the room and returned soon after, handing a wooden box to Light.   
Kari looked back to the Prince. “What else did the Woman in White tell you?”  
The Prince turned back to her. “She warned that you’re journey ahead is long and perilous. Powers of the great dark are beginning to build up so you must be on your guard everywhere. Mt. Duergar is to be your next journey.”  
“Mt. Duergar?” Mac repeated.  
Ferris looked happy as he could be. “We’re going to see the dwarves!”  
“Then let us be on our way.” Light commented, turning to the door.  
“Wait!” The Prince stopped Kari. “You must let me thank you, Lady. Kari. And your companions. If not for you-”  
Wanting to be out of here as fast as Light did from embarrassment of just ‘mouth-to-mouth’-ing a sleeping prince, she thought fast. She placed a hand on Assad’s shoulder.  
“If you want to thank me,” Kari told the prince. “Take care of the boy.”  
The Prince didn’t even blink before giving a bow to her. “You have my word.”  
“But…but I want to go with you!” Assad turned and grabbed her hand. “The four off you; I can help you!”  
Light moved forward and knelt down beside him. “The mission we are on is going to be hard and dangerous. All forces of evil will be after us and if you are there you will be in harm’s way. We would try our hardest to protect you, and that could lead to something even worse than death for us, do you understand?”  
Assad had tears swelling up in his eyes and Ferris gave a sigh. “I’ll make you a deal. After our mission is over, we’ll come back to see you. If you practice that magic I taught you and become strong enough to impress me, we’ll take you with us, deal?”  
“You mean it?” Assad asked them.  
“I won’t let him back out.” Kari gave him a smile. “Can you do that?”  
Assad gave her a hug. “You’d better come back and see; come back and see just how great of a wizard I can be!”  
Ferris gave a grin as he turned to follow Mac out of the castle. “I wouldn’t miss it for the world.”  
“If you ever need a place of rest while on this journey,” The Prince called to them. “Then don’t forget that the doors to my kingdom are open to you.”  
“I’ll keep that in mind.” Light gave him a nod and followed the brothers. Kari gave Assad a smile and a wave before turning to follow her brothers and Light on the next leg of their journey.


	8. A Rocky Dilemma

“Come on, put a smile on.”  
“Say that one more time and I’ll strangle you.”  
“Aww, is someone having her monthly visit? Poor little girl.”  
“This ‘monthly visit;’ is about to kick your ass.”  
“You know, if you asked your little elf prince, I’m sure he could help you feel better.”  
“That’s it!”  
Mac gave a sigh and shook his head as he watched Kari take off after a laughing Ferris. “I don’t see how the two of them can continue to act like such children.”  
“Around Ferris, it’s hard not to act like a child.”  
“You don’t though.” Mac replied.  
Light opening his mouth to make a remark when Ferris’ voice beat him.  
“Light! Come save me from the wrath of elf-boy’s lover!”  
Mac watched as an enraged look passed over his friend’s face before the said man moved on past them all towards the mountain that they could see before them.  
~Ha, guess I was wrong~  
It was three days since the event at the elven village and though Light denied it, he was strictly refusing to make much of a conversation with Kari outside of the normal ones. Mac had tried to talk to him but the knight instantly put a stop to that the moment that they hit the dock. The trip had taken them West past Cornelia to the dock that placed them in a forest to the west since the east path was blocked by a mountain. Mac had bought a map from the elves before they left though and had marked Mt. Duergar, home of the dwarves. The forest was thick as they headed south, but the moment that the tip of the mountain had come into view to them made them all pleased.  
“Check it out!” Ferris had finally gotten away from Kari and was happily pointing at the entrance to the mountain that could be seen about a mile or so ahead of them. “Duergar! I wonder if the dwarves will have any gold for us!”  
“If they do, I seriously doubt they’ll give us any of it.” Kari commented.  
“Of course they will. We’re the Warriors of Light, remember?”  
“Ferris…sometimes I wonder if you’re acting or just really dumb.” The woman sighed.  
“If you have to ask that, you’re the dumb one.” Ferris commented, skipping off towards the entrance happily.  
Kari was still for a moment before giving a sigh and following him. “Dammit, I walked right into that one.”  
The dwarves were different than the elves. The group was happily greeted the moment the guards outside the mountain saw them and word of visitors traveled quickly. Everyone rushed forward to greet the newcomers and Ferris sucked it in like rays of the sun. The trio was glad that he didn’t go off about them being the Warriors of Light and just let him have his fun as they tried to find what it was they were exactly here for. They received word about them dwarves for something called the Levistone but other than that they found nothing…until a dwarf ran into Kari, making her drop her bag. It exploded, littering everything all over the floor beneath her.  
“Oh, I’m so sorry, lass! My mistake.” The dwarf had dropped to the ground to gather everything back to her bag.  
“It’s all right,” Kari told him as she picked up as well. “I wasn’t watching where I was going.”  
“We can tell,” Ferris told her, crossing his arms.  
“Shut up.” She hissed at him as Mac gave him a whack in the arm.  
“Nitro powder!” The dwarf suddenly cried. He was holding up a tube that had been in Kari’s bag. “The explosive force in this powder will have my canal open in no time flat! I owe you, kids!”  
“Who says that we’re going to give it to you?” Ferris demanded.  
Mac seemed to agree with his brother. “What’s in it for us?”  
As the brothers talked to the dwarf, Light leaned towards Kari. “What are you doing with Nitro powder?”  
“Mac brought it back with him in Cornelia, remember? It was something that the town gave him.” She answered.   
“Hmm.”   
Light hadn’t known that was part of the gifts but then again he didn’t look through them like Ferris. The Woman in White appeared right around that same time so there was no reason that his mind would stick to the gifts that they had received from the town for taking care of the pirates.   
Speaking of the Woman in White, according to the elf Prince this is where they were supposed to come next. Light didn’t want to believe them but only the four of them had known that the Woman in White was helping them along their journey; there was no way that the elf would have known without the woman actually visiting him while he was locked in that sleep from the dark elf. Question was how did the Woman in White get into contact with him? How could she talk to him in his sleep? There was something odd about that woman, always had been, but Light still trusted her. He didn’t know what it was, exactly, but he knew that she was there to help them and nothing else.  
“So, you’re just going to give it to him?” Kari’s voice brought Light from his thoughts to see that Ferris and Mac had rejoined them as the dwarf worked on something in front of them on a wall.  
“What else do we have it for? I seriously doubt that we will be blowing something up in the future,” Ferris replied, folding his arms behind his head. “Besides, the little guy really, really wants it. I couldn’t just keep it from him.”  
Kari gave him a blank look. “Bullshit. You do it all the time.”  
“Yeah, but only to you guys. Everyone else I like.”   
Light shook his head as he watched Kari give him a kick.   
“There ya go! Now we can blow this rock to smithereens!” The dwarf turned to look at them. “What are you all standing around for? That powder’s set to blow! Unless you plan on going with it, you’d better get out while you can!”   
Kari and Ferris exchanged a look with one another before both took off with cries. Mac mimicked Lights previous head shake as the other three of them hurried after the screaming duo. The other dwarves of the Mountain followed suit before heading back inside after they watched the canal fall to pieces outside.   
“He didn’t even say thank you,” Ferris growled as the four Warriors were left outside on their own.  
“It doesn’t matter,” Mac commented, watched as the rocks continued to float away in the water.  
“I suppose not,” His brother then pulled a grin. “I cannot wait to see what lies out there across that canal!”  
“This is what the Woman in White sent us to do?” Kari asked. “Blow a hole and open a path? How is that supposed to help us if we don’t know where we’re supposed to go?”  
“Maybe she’ll show up again when we get to the next port. I don’t know about you guys, but I would happily enjoy a night in an inn somewhere. I am tired of the ship.”  
Kari had to admit that she was too. She would LOVE a shower right about now.  
“Then shall we?” Light asked, heading back to the ship.  
On the trip theey found a whirlpool that all the canal rocks had disappeared to but Bikke easily sailed around it and brought them to a port outside of a tiny town on the edge of the continent.   
The town’s name was Melmond and it looked like it had recently gone through hell. A bunch of solemn looking citizens barely took notice of them and there were many, many new gravestones in the field next to it.  
“Why is it, no matter where we go, the town always needs some sort of saving or helping?” Ferris commented ass they paused to stare at the town.   
“Because we’re the infamous Warriors of Light, remember?” Kari grumbled as she moved off into the town.  
It turns out that this little town had recently been attacked by a group of vampires and it had left their town in the state it was in. Many buildings were destroyed but thankfully the Inn had not been and there was a room for the four of them. Everyone had taken their showers and dinner was well over with. Kari was happily getting ready to sleep as Light was reading on his own bed again and the brothers were the ones playing cards this time.  
“I need to really get my own room if you’re going to keep popping up to see me,” Ferris grinned, not even having to look over his shoulder to see that their friend had joined them again.   
The Woman in White gave a chuckle. “Funny, but no thank you.”  
“What’s the matter? Already got a boyfriend?” She just continued to smile. “You know that doesn’t mean that I’m going to give up, right?”  
Kari sighed and sat up, letting her sheets fall. “What is it this time?”  
“Kari,” Light shot at her, setting his book on his table. She frowned.  
“As you can see, Melmond has been attacked and left in nearly complete ruin.”  
“We heard that Vampires did it.” Mac commented.  
“Indeed,” The woman nodded. “The Vampire rests in the Earth Cavern; your next destination.”  
“But why do we need to go there? What does this town have to do with saving the world?” Kari asked her.  
“Kari,” Light began. “We can’t just leave this place like it is!”  
“Why not? They can learn to talk care of themselves.”  
“If we leave the Vampire alive, he will most likely just attack again and again until the entire town is dead.” Mac commented.  
Kari huffed and crossed her arms.  
“The Vampire holds the Star Ruby. It can grant you passage through the Giant’s Cave and to the first Crystal; the Earth Crystal.” The Woman in White told them.  
“Of course he does,” Kari sighed again.  
“Calm down, Kari,” Ferris placed a card down in the game he and his brother were playing. “No need to be upset.”  
“No need? This woman has just been dragging us around the continent, having us save towns and she hasn’t told us a thing! She could be the one behind it all for we know! She could be leading us right into a trap to kill us all!”  
“If you don’t want to continue, Kari,” Light began firmly. “Then you can go back home. I don’t need someone who’s afraid on this journey.”  
Things fell into an awkward silence as the Woman in White slid her eyes from Kari to Light. Kari just stared at the man in silence for a moment before standing from her bed and leaving the room quietly.  
“Ouch, dude.” Ferris commented, refusing to move his eyes from his cards as he took a drink from his glass.  
“You’ll pay for that.” Mac agreed as the Woman in white disappeared as well.  
Light gave a silent sigh to himself as he glanced at the window. “I know.”

 

“I don’t mean to make you angry.” Kari didn’t even bother to glance beside her at the other woman’s voice. She had moved outside of the Inn down towards the dock where the ship was currently at. The Pirates were all asleep so she wasn’t noticed as she stood there, staring out over the dark water. “I can understand that you don’t like doing this. If this happened to me then I would have reacted just like you have. I’m surprised that you all have come this far without demanding more of an explanation.”  
“That would be Light’s doing. He wants to believe you and so decided to do what you said. And wherever Light goes, well…” She just left it there.  
The Woman in White gave a nod. “I understand. I had a friend just like that once. I would have followed him anywhere…” Her voice faded for a moment before she changed the subject. “I see a bit of myself in you, Kari. I believe that that’s what finally made me sure that I had found the true Warriors of Light. Forgive me on placing this task upon the shoulders of you and your friends, Kari. I feel you are the only ones that can what…what I couldn’t.”  
“You couldn’t?” Kari repeated her. Her mind instantly began putting things together.   
“I can’t explain everything but you will get your answers sooner than you think. I am not ready to voice it. I can only ask that you trust me and continue on this journey.”  
“Whatever has happened to you must be truly hard for you to hold on your shoulders,” Kari began after a few moments. “But the longer you hold it, the harder it gets.”  
“I know this,” She nodded. “But, as one woman to another, I ask you not push. I’m not ready to…face it fully, I suppose.”  
“You can start by giving me your name.” Kari told her.  
The Woman in White was silent for a moment before a smile spread across her face again. “Cosmos; you can call me Cosmos.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, this Cosmos is the one from Dissidia. I felt that she deserved a better story than what she received in the other games and so twisted her into my plot. I hope none of you mind.


	9. The Start of the End

“So, she told you not to pay heed to the Giant’s Cave until after we defeated the Vampire freak?”  
“Yes, Ferris,” Kari replied. “As I told you before she said to defeat the Vampire before trying to take on the monster inside.”  
“And this monster, the Lich she called it, is guarding the Earth Crystal?”  
The woman hung her head and glared at the man. “How many times do you want me to repeat the same damn thing over and over again?”  
“Just once more please.”  
She gave a growl. “She told me that after we defeat the Vampire we will receive the Star Ruby. Inside the Giants Cave we will give the gem to the creature inside and he will give us passage to the other side. There we will find another Sage named Sadda and he will give us the Earth Rod which will open a secret passage to take care of the Lich and retrieve the Earth Crystal.”  
“And you believed her?”  
“Yes I did,” Kari stomped her foot and glared at the other. “You got a problem?”  
“No, not a problem, I’m just shocked, Kari. You seemed to want to distrust the Woman in White with all your heart. What changed?”  
Kari glared at him for a moment longer before turning back to continue walking. She hadn’t told the trio behind her what Cosmos had told her; hadn’t even told them her name. 

_“Cosmos; you can call me Cosmos.”_

 

The conversation changed Kari’s thoughts on the strange woman and though she didn’t fully trust her, she was going to continue on with the mission. She wanted to learn about her more and so this was the best way to go. She would be ready for anything, though.  
They had been heading southwest along the coastline, fighting off monsters here and there. They had come to a fork separated by the fountain. To the west sat the Giant’s cave that Cosmos had told Kari not to go to yet, and to the south was the Earth Cavern. They had taken the south path and circled around the mountain to find the entrance.  
“All right, you guys ready for this?” Ferris began, staring up at the cavern. “These guys are Vampires so whatever you do, don’t let them bite you. If they do, let me know and I will happily amputate your limbs so you don’t change.”  
The trio blinked and watched as Red Sage skipped into the dark hole.   
“He’s way too happy about that,” Kari commented.  
Mac shook his head. “He always is.”  
Light began to make a comment but Kari cut him off as she called to Ferris, running after him.   
Mac placed a hand on his friend’s shoulder. “I told you that she would make you pay for it.”  
Light glanced at him before giving a sigh and hanging his head. “I let my emotions get a hold and take control of me.”  
“You’re a man,” Mac told him. “Any man witnessing another man making a move on his woman like the elf prince did would react that way; you just did the wrong thing and took it out on her.”  
“Kari is not my woman,” Light replied to his friend. “She’s just my friend.”  
Mac shook his head. “You sure about that?”  
As Mac followed after the duo, Light hung his head. His thoughts and feelings were raging in his mind like a storm as he tried to find his answers. He had known Kari just as long as Ferris and Mac had. She was like his sister; wasn’t she?  
The Cavern of Earth was quite similar to the previous cave that they had endured with Assad, just the Piscodemons decided to return in more numbers this time. They brought friends as well, such as Ogre chiefs, the Cockatrice, Hill Gigas, and small bats. As they traveled through they found many treasure from gold to swords and armor and potions that Mac happily helped the others pack into their sacks, refusing to leave any bit of it behind.  
“Just how much further are we going to have to go before we find this damn bat?” Ferris demanded, coming to a stop with a fierce grunt.  
“Why not cut yourself and let you bleed?” Kari asked him. “It might attract him.”  
“Kari, that is-” Ferris was going to growl at her but he eased up as his brain actually took in her words. “A really good idea. Hand me your knife.” Kari pulled it out and watched as her brother made a cut on his hand and began to splatter it on the ground and rocks around them. “And now we wait.”  
They didn’t have to wait long. A large, dark form began to flutter around the room they were in. Mac lifted his lantern up higher and they took in sight of the large bat that was now floating in front of them.   
“You mean it actually worked?” Kari sounded in disbelief.  
“It appears so.” Light sounded surprised, too.  
“All things in this vorld are destined to end in death. The seal cannot be broken, and so the earth shall rot.”  
“What the fuck is he talking about?” Ferris asked aloud.  
“Who cares? Let’s just kill him and get this over with.” The woman told him.  
The bat turned into a man. “You cannot alter destiny. Mere mortals cannot kill the undying!”  
“How much you wanna bet?” Kari called to him, pulling out her sword.  
“Such foolish mortals. Victory vill make your blood all the sweeter.”  
Mac went to say something but his brother beat him to it.  
“You know what?” Ferris pointed at the Vampire. “I’ll let you drink my blood. Happily.”  
“What?” Kari and the other two looked at him in shock like he was stupid.  
“But only if,” He bent over and pointed at his butt. “You suck it out of my ass!”  
Kari slapped a hand to her face as the vampire looked like he was about to blow a fuse. She should have known. “Let’s just get this shit over with.” She sighed.  
“I agree,” Light nodded, grabbing his own sword.  
Intimidating as he is, the Vampire wasn’t really too much of a problem. When Ferris pulled out his Diaga spell, which was powerful against undead enemies, it pretty much took care of half of the enemy’s attacks, leaving the others to finish him off with the overwhelming force between the three of them.   
“That’s it?” Ferris growled as the body crumbled to ash. “When is the good fighting going to start?”  
“That dark elf was a pain,” Kari commented, moving forward too the chest that was in the back of the room. “But this whole journey is starting to become…I don’t want to say a drag, but it’s a drag.”  
“And when you start to think that is when the really hard stuff begins,” Mac closed his eyes.  
“Let’s hope so,” Ferris snorted.  
“Got it,” Kari returned with a large, red stone in her head. “The Star Ruby.”  
“And the Woman in White said for us to take this to some Sage and he will give us what we need to reach the path to the Earth Crystal?” Light asked her.  
“That’s what she said. She said that if we give this stone to the creature in the Giant’s Cave then he will move and let us through and the Sage will be there for us on the other side.”  
“Then let’s get going, shall we?” Ferris turned for the entrance again, leading the way out.  
They pretty much backtracked the entire way to the Giant’s Cave and what the Woman in White told them was true. The Giant moved out of the way to let them pass through this cave and out into the sight of the land behind it. They all wanted to wander around for a while but Mac was able to keep them all in line and made it to the Sage’s Cave where they were able to receive the Earth Rod. They also learned that, again, the Woman in White’s words were true as the vampire was not the mastermind behind it all. The real boss was found deeper in the Cavern of Earth. Sadda, the sage, told them to use the Earth Rod in the Vampire’s area and they would find the answer that they were looking for.  
The group didn’t want to waste another day on this and so Ferris made them work double time to get back to the other cave. He wanted to bust in there and raise hell but Mac knocked some sense into his brother and they camped outside the cave that night. With the head Vampire dead the others seemed to have disappeared and they were left alone that night to sleep in peace.   
Sort of.  
Light couldn’t sleep. He rolled and rolled but nothing came to give him peace. Instead he found himself staring at Kari. Her back was too him as she slept on the other side of the fire. He had been trying to shove the guilt he felt for what he had told her the night before away but it was still there, ringing in his head; as was Mac’s words from earlier that day.

 

_“Any man witnessing another man making a move on his woman like the elf prince did would react that way.”_

 

But Kari wasn’t his woman. He couldn’t lie and say that he had never thought about a life forming between him and Kari, but he knew it could never be. He was just another brother in her eyes, like Ferris and Mac, and he didn’t want to ruin the bond the four of them held together. He had been able to hide his feelings for a while but he had let them loose with the actions of the elf prince. He was going to have to grow stronger to make sure that it would never happen again. Everything would go back to normal.  
But little did Light know, as he laid there and finally drifted off into sleep, that tomorrow was going to be the start of end of anything normal that he had planned.


	10. The Earth Crystal

“Are you guys ready for this?”  
“Yes, Kari, we told you we were ready outside, too.”  
“Shut it, Ferris.”  
“I’ll shut it when you use that damn rod and open the door!”  
Mac shook his head as his brother and sister continued to argue. He had been hoping that the two of them would grow up and stop acting like this but it seems that he was just going to have to make do with what he had.  
“All right,” Kari pulled out the Earth Rod and held it up in the center of the room. She waved it around a few times…but nothing happened. “Are we in the right room?”  
“Yes,” Light nodded moving forward to run a hand over the wall.  
“I knew this was bullshit,” Ferris growled, ripping the Rod from the woman’s hand. Waving it above his head in a constant circle, he gave another growl before letting go of it. “Let’s get out of here. There ain’t anything left.” He turned to leave but the sound of rumbling rock made him turn back. The Rod had smacked into a part of the wall and the rock had begun to move, revealing a set of stairs. “I totally planned that.” He told them, moving towards the stairs.  
“Of course you did,” Kari smiled, following after him.  
The opened pathway led them further underground and it also gave them stronger enemies to deal with. Even Mac found things getting a little harder the further they went down, but he’d never admit that aloud. They found a bunch of chests with a staff, Gil, and lots of it, a Mythril shield, a tent, there were a couple of good things to be found.  
They found yet another set of stairs that led them further into the Earth and Ferris began to feel his nerves shake. He didn’t like the thought of being this far underground. All the fears of the ground collapsing and them getting lost and stuck under here forever was his worst nightmare. He wanted to get this over with as fast as possible and get the hell out of there and back up on land.  
“A red door?” Light’s voice made Ferris pull his head up and out of his thoughts.  
“I guess this is it then,” Ferris moved forward to place a hand on the door. “You guys ready?”  
“Just open the door,” Mac told his brother. He nodded and led the way inside.  
“What the hell is that?” Ferris’ voice brought the others to a pause as they stared before them. There was a large, white podium in the center of the rocks with a large, glowing brown ball before it.  
 _“Who speaks to me?”_ A dark voice sounded around the area.  
“I’ll give you three guesses,” The red mage replied.  
“I doubt that now is the time for you and your remarks, Ferris!” Kari felt an ominous air floating around in the room.  
“Come on, what can he do to us? He’s not even…” His voice faded as the brown stone began to light up and a large form appeared before the, “Here…” He glanced at his brother. “How in the hell are we going to fight that?!”  
The Lich was a tall form, his shape taking that of a skeleton in a tattered purple robe and a helmet with horns.  
Mac’s face was firm. “We beat him back into the ground.”  
 _“I am he who feeds on the power of Earth.”_  
“Into the ground?!” Ferris cried. “How the hell are we going to do that? If you want to get close enough to him to do that then be my guest!”  
“Come on, Ferris,” Kari grinned as she pulled out her sword. “Be a man.”  
“Not you too, Kari!”  
“If you’re too afraid, Ferris,” Light had grabbed his own blade. “Then stand back and let the three of us work.”  
 _“I will not be disturbed by mortal men. I am the Lich…Fiend of the Earth!”_  
Ferris gave a tight grip to his hand. “Dammit,” He cursed, running into the fight.   
The Lich was an undead creature, they could tell that right away from the skeletal form. Trying to keep himself calm, Ferris pulled out his Fira magic and began raining it down on their enemy but as the rocks above them began to slowly tumble down he felt his fear rocket back up and pulled back. If the fight got too rowdy then there was a chance that the cave could collapse on top of him. Jumping behind a set of rocks as the others fought he clenched his hands together, trying to hold back his fear and shaking. He had tried to play it off but there was no doubt to him being afraid now. He was fighting with himself whether or not he should leave and let the others finish this fight as he hurried back outside to fresh air and sunlight.  
But if he were to do that then he would be worried about the others. Would they be able to do it? And if they weren’t and they failed it would have been because he had left them behind. It would all rest on his shoulders. He would never be able to live with himself if that happened..  
“Kari, watch out!”  
“Light!”  
Glancing over the rock, Ferris watched as the Lich cast a thunder spell on Kari but Light had jumped in the way to take the blow. Light crumbled to his knees and Kari dropped beside him to make sure he was still alive as Mac stood before them, fists ready to attack if Lich tried to attack them again.  
If he didn’t help then things were just going to get worse. He had to move. He had to help.  
~MOVE!~ He roared in his head and from around the rock he dashed.  
The Lich’s back was to the red mage as it glared down at the trio, getting ready for another attack. It gave Ferris his chance. Climbing up the back of the skeleton’s purple robe, he took a hold of the helmet and used all his strength to rip it from his head. The Lich tried to shake him off, tried to pull him off but Mac used this moment to attack from the front, dragging the Lich’s attention back to him. Rearing his staff back, Ferris shoved it as hand as he could through a hole in the back of the skeletons head. It hit something soft and the smell made Ferris want to vomit but he held it back as he jumped off of the Lich’s shoulder and clapped his hands together, roaring out a chant of magic.   
“Get out of the way.” Mac cried as he hurried to Kari and Light. He knew what spell his brother was using and if they didn’t get out of the way then they were going to be in trouble themselves.  
The Lich had succeeded in grabbing the small staff and pulling it out of his head but it was too late; the spell had already been cast.  
“HELL’S JUDGMENT!”  
The light of the flame that erupted from the staff the Lich held made Kari squeeze her eyes shut and the heat scared her of being burned but she knew that Ferris would keep his attack centered on the undead form.  
Ferris watched as the fire burst from his staff and began to pound into the Lich, making the creature give out roars of pain as the first seeped in through every crack in his bones, eventually making the Fiend explode and shatter into pieces that faded away into nothing.   
Taking deep breaths, Ferris barely had time to pick his staff back up before Kari dove into him with a tight hug, thanking him and telling him how awesome that attack had been.  
“Stop, I can’t breathe!” Ferris pushed the woman off of him as Light move up. He looked like he had been beaten bad. They were going to need a day or two to rest before moving on.  
“Good job, Ferris.”  
“Yeah,” He felt his voice shake for a moment before clearing his throat and firming his voice. “Yeah, it was, wasn’t it?”  
“Just a little,” Mac grinned as he teased.   
“Let’s see you do something better,” He hissed back.  
“Hey, look!” Kari gave a huge smile as the Earth Crystal returned to its former glory. “We did it!”  
“Is it safe to just leave it here?” Ferris commented. “Someone else could come and do the same thing.”  
“Well, if they do then we’ll just kick their asses too,” Kari told him. “We did it. We actually did it!”  
Light wore a smile on his face as the young woman celebrated. “Let’s go back to Melmond and make sure that everything has started to fix itself. We’ll set our next journey from there.”  
“I agree,” Mac nodded.   
“I’m starving,” Ferris sighed, glancing at the warp portal that stood behind the earth Crystal. “Lucky this thing is here, right?”  
“Indeed,” Light nodded. “I would have hated having to travel back up all those stairs.”  
“Same here,” The red mage nodded. “Do you know how sweet it would be for this thing to take us all the way back to Melmond?”  
“We’re not that lucky,” Kari grinned, following them over to the warp. “It most likely will take us up to the entrance, you know?”  
“If its sunlight and fresh air, then I don’t care,” Ferris gave in with a sigh.  
“Same here,” Mac agreed.  
But as they stepped onto the platform, a sound caught Kari’s attention. Turning back to look around the cavern she caught sight of something coming out of the shadows. From the corner behind them she could see a form; a woman. She went to call out to it, thinking that it was Cosmos, but her voice caught when she realized who it truly was.  
Receiving a smile and a wave, Kari realized that she had been right. Zera was still alive.


	11. The Fire Crystal

“Are you sure it was Zera?”  
“Yes, I’m sure! There is no way that it could have been anyone else.”  
“Maybe you were just seeing things. We were nearly 60 feet underground you know.”  
“That doesn’t have anything to do with me seeing Zera.”  
“Well, the only problem with that, Kari, is that Zera’s dead. We killed both her and Garland.”  
“But what if we didn’t, Ferris? All we did is see their bodies on the ground. We left them laying there. You don’t know what happened! None of us do. It all could have been a part of their plan.”  
“Part of their plan? For what?”  
“I…I don’t know.”Kari gave a sigh. “But I know I saw her.”  
“Kari,”  
“Leave her alone, Ferris,” Light’s voice made both of them turn to look at the other two warriors. “If Kari says she saw her, then she saw her.”  
“You believe that?” Ferris asked him. “We struck both her and Garland down. There’s no way she could be alive.”  
“Ferris,” Mac gave his brother a warning tone.  
“If Kari says she saw her, then I believe her,” Light continued. “If Zera is still alive, then I’m sure that we’ll see her again soon enough.”  
Ferris seemed too accept that answer and turned away from the rest of them, walking off towards the other side of the ship. Mac, giving a sigh, followed his brother and left the other two to themselves.  
Melmond had been completely happy that the Lich and the Vampire had been taken care of and now the group was on their way to the West. Cosmos had appeared and congratulated them on their success before telling them that the next crystal lay in the Crescent Lake.  
“One down, three to go.”  
Light’s voice brought Kari from her thoughts. To be honest, she and Light hadn’t talked to each other too much since that event in the Inn with Cosmos. But after Light had jumped in the way to protect her from the Lich’s thunder spell she couldn’t just be made at him anymore.   
“Yeah,” She gave a soft nod. “But what are we going to do after that, I wonder.”  
“What do you mean?” Light kept looking straight ahead. “The four of us are going to return home.”  
“Together?” She asked him.  
Light glanced at her to see the frown on her face. Reaching over, he grabbed her hand and squeezed it; his hand was warm. “Together; no matter what.”  
Kari stared at him for a moment, a hot feeling rising to her face before she glanced back ahead of them. She felt the sudden urge to want to say something but how could she just out and say it? She was afraid of his reaction and she didn’t want…she didn’t know…  
“Land ho!” One of the pirates shouted out. Light gave her hand a squeeze before turning away from her to head to his room and gather his things.   
They had to travel across the land from the dock to hit Crescent Lake. Having to walk around a huge lake, all four of them were extremely pleased to see the sight of the small buildings and the other people walking around before them. A few pirates had traveled with them and spread out, leaving the four Warriors of Light to do their work.  
The group was surprised to find that there was absolutely nothing wrong with this little town and were quite pleased as they talked to the townspeople and stocked on supplies and checking out new weapons and armor. They had run into a set of men in the field that claimed to study the stars. They had heard of the defeat of the Lich and told them that it had pissed off the other three fiends and they were now on the prowl, getting ready for their own chance to fight, and defeat, the Warriors of Light. One of the fiends resided on Mountn Gulg, the Fiend of fire, and one of the men gave them a canoe since the ship would be too big to make the way through the area. They learned a few other things too.

_Four Hundred years ago it was wind…  
Two hundred years ago it was water…  
Then came earth and fire…  
The four forces that make up the world…_

“So, it’s the fire next, huh?” Ferris asked as the four of them dragged the large boat to the edge of the water.  
“It appears so,” Light nodded. “You know water and ice spells, don’t you?”  
“I do,” Ferris answered. “But if this is the fiend of fire then I’m sure they’ll have some type of defense against them, don’t you think? Especially after hearing about what we did to its Lich friend.”  
“We should be alright,” Kari joined in. “So, this Mount Gulg, what kind of monsters do you think will be inside it?”  
“Fire,” Mac answered. “Mount Gulg is an active Volcano.”  
“A volcano?” Light paused for a moment, lifting his head to look at the large mountain they could see on the other side of the lake.  
Ferris glanced back at him. “Something wrong?”  
“No,” Light shook his head and continued to move to the shore of the lake. “Let’s just get this done with, shall we?”  
The trio behind him all shared the same look. There was something on Light’s mind about the volcano being active; then again, who wouldn’t be? The thought of touching lava wasn’t a very good thing, you know?  
“Knowing our luck,” Ferris began as they rowed across the water. “I guarantee that this Maralith is going to be in the very center of the volcano. There’s no way it’ll be just waiting for us at the entrance; we’re not that lucky.”  
“Of course it won’t be,” Kari grunted. “Stop trying to think, Ferris. You’re making my head hurt.”  
Mac and Light stayed silent as the two of them began their usual arguing but Light’s mind was still on the thought of the Volcano. He had only seen one, just once, when he was a child. Since that day, he worked hard not to think about that horrid day again. It seemed that time to face his fears had come forth.  
“So,” Kari began as they hit land. “What do you think will be worse? Inside a volcano or underground?”  
“The volcano,” Mac instantly said.  
“Underground will be way worse,” Ferris disagreed. “Never again, guys. Next time you’ll be going without me.”  
Kari gave a grin. “I’ll remember that.” She glanced back at the boat with a frown; Light hadn’t gotten out yet and he seemed to be lost deep in thought.  
Ferris followed her gaze. “Hey, we don’t have time for your day-dreaming, man. Let’s get this shit over with.”  
Blinking, Light grabbed his back and joined them.  
“Are you all right?”  
He glanced at the woman. “Yes. Just thinking.” He looked back up to the mountain, trying to erase images from his head. “Let’s get going.”  
The volcano was not a dormant as Light had been hoping. The lava was there, making the inside paths hot and stuff. It really sucked for him because he was wearing armor but there was no way that he was going to strip it all off here. Maybe on the ship when they got back, but not here before a big fight.  
The monsters here were mostly fire-based, leaving most of the work to Ferris and his spells but the others had to be on their guard. These guys were a lot stronger and faster than the other creatures that they had run into before. The Fire Gigas were a huge pain in the ass as were the Pyrolisks and elementals. Kari’s shirt had been caught on fire and had to rip it off before going in and killing one of the Gigas for doing so by stabbing her short sword through its face. Mac had given her his purple and yellow vest to tie closed, leaving his bare-chested until they returned to the ship.  
Much like the other places that they had traveled through, there were chests and other little treasures to be found throughout the floors of the volcano. Mythril Helms and a whole bunch of Gil and I mean a lot of it, as well as some gloves and a tent and a few other things.  
“Could this stuff be leftovers from the last poor fuckers that came in here?” Ferris asked, looking at the staff he had just found.  
“Most likely,” Kari nodded, pocketing as much of the jewels and gold as she could. “This stuff is so gonna sell!”  
Mac couldn’t help but give a chuckle at the other man and woman before giving a silent prayer for those that had died here.  
The further down they went the more Lava they found and the hotter it got. Ferris had begun using his weakest blizzard spells on the group to try and cool them off but the heat made the weak spells melt pretty quickly. They traveled around for hours and Light saw that they were not going to hold on for much longer. He was about to call it quits and retreat until tomorrow when his eyes landed on a strange, silver and golden door.   
“I think we found it guys.” He called back to them.  
“About damn time!” Ferris roared, running forward. “Now let’s kill this bastard and get the fuck out of here!”  
The chamber looked much like the Lich’s had. The large, red orb that stood guard in front of the dull crystal and the portal that would lead them out of the volcano.  
 _“So you are the ones who defeated the Fiend of Earth and roused Marilith from her slumber…”_  
“The fire Fiend’s a chick?” Ferris had hearts in his eyes. “Here guys, let me just talk to her for a minute…”  
Marilith was a woman with brown hair and golden eyes, but her lower body was that of a snake and she had six arms, each wielding a sword.  
“Shut up, stupid.” Kari hissed at him. “We’re here to kill it, not do your twisted version of the Hanky-panky, so let’s get this done with!”  
 _“The power of the burning flame is mine and mine alone!”_ She hissed at them. _“Those who would oppose me shall burn in hellfire!”_  
“Maybe we should lure her out of here and shove her in the lava,” Kari offered up as the fight began with her dodging a sword slash.   
“It might work,” Light began. “But she lives here. She may be immune to it.” He glanced at Ferris. “Do you have any Nul spells?”  
“No,” Ferris this gave a curse as his blizzard spell failed. “And it seems she is resistant to ice, like you had believed.”  
“Then we’re at a wall,” Mac grunted, rolling away from another attack.  
“The hell we are!” Kari gave a roar and slipped through an attack and sliced off one of Marilith’s arms. She turned back to her friends. “Just cut her damn arms off.”   
Ferris went to make a funny comment but it turned to one of fear. “Move, Kari!”  
Marilith’s arm re-grew, and pretty damn fast, too. She went to slice through the small woman after having picked up her fallen blade but Light got there first, blocking the attack.  
“Wretched fiend!” Mac’s cry grabbed Marilith’s attention to receive huge blow to the face. She gave a shriek and slithered away, giving the group a moment to breath before she came sliding back, madder than before.  
And then an idea struck Light’s mind. “You three, distract her!”  
“On it!” Kari nodded.   
A good way of distracting the snake woman was to cut off as many arms as you could. Ferris and Mac seemed to agree and Ferris used wind blades to do just that as Mac grabbed one of the Fiend’s fallen swords to chop off a few of his own.  
As they did so, Light began to summon up his strength. An easy way to get rid of this monster would to use his Oversoul technique. He had never used it before because he didn’t feel that it was perfected yet, but now was a good chance to try it. If it didn’t work…well, they would come to that later.  
“All of you! Move!”  
Light’s roar made all three of them jump back, leaving Marilith to turn to the young knight rushing at her. Light rushed up to her, his sword and body glowing, giving him unbelievable speed as he dashed around the fiend, chopping her arms and her tail to pieces. Giving a roar and jumping up high, his sword came into contact with Marilith’s neck before an explosion of white light made everyone clinch their eyes shut.  
“Holy shit.” Ferris was the first to speak, peeking out from behind one of the large rocks. Mac and Kari repeated him as they popped out from behind their own, looking at the burnt, crispy pieces of what was once the Fire Fiend. Light stood in the middle of the room, watching the red Crystal return to its former glory.  
“That was incredible, Light!” Kari cried, hooking her arm around the man’s neck. “Oh my god, how did you do that!?”  
“Who cares how he did it?” Ferris linked his arm from the other side. “He just killed that bitch with fire. Fire!”  
“It wasn’t fire,” Light corrected him. “It was light.”  
“Well, whatever it was, it fried her ass!”  
Light gave a smile. “I’m glad that you approve.”  
“Hey, I’ll approve of anyone saving my ass from a psycho bitch.”  
Mac reached over and knocked his brother in the head. “Stop cursing so much.”  
“Yes mom,” He grinned, still completely pleased with the events.  
“I say we get out of here and cool down in the town for a night,” Kari sighed, giving a stretch.   
“Screw that,” Ferris ran for the portal. “I’m stripping and jumping in that lake.  
Kari pulled a face as the rest of them joined him. “Not in front of me you aren’t!”  
“Ha, watch me!”  
Giving a huge grin, Ferris turned back to take a quick look at Marilith’s body again but froze as he saw a form moving towards it. His mouth dropped open at the sight of Zera picking up one of the arms. She glanced at him and gave smirk and a wave.  
Ferris stared at the woman in shock. “No…way…”


	12. Citadel of Trials

“Would you stop hitting me?!”  
“No, this is payback for you thinking that I was insane!”  
“I already apologized, Kari!”  
“Well, take it anyway!”  
“Should we stop them?”  
Light just stared at the duo and shook his head. “Let them play a little longer.”  
Cosmos gave a chuckle as Mac finally got tired of it and knocked Kari and Ferris’ heads together.  
“Pay attention,” The older man told them.  
“Yeah yeah,” Ferris rubbed his head, shrugging his brother’s hand off. “Where is it that we’re heading again?”  
“The Ryukahn Desert,” Cosmos answered him.  
With two Crystals activated, they thought that they could just run in and get the other two Crystals but Cosmos showed up and told them that she had a different idea for them to do. Something that would make traveling easier for them. They had to find the Levistone. Kari thought that Cosmos was just going to disappear again and leave them to go and acquire the Levistone themselves but the woman decided to join them this time after telling the pirates that they could go about their own ways once again. It was strange to see Cosmos treading over dirt and rock and grass in that flowing, white gown and cloak of hers, but noting marked it or ripped it. It was like there was a force field or something around it that refrained anything from happening. Cosmos didn’t even sweat as they made their journey. It was impressive and Kari was a little jealous. She was also glad that the other woman had come with them. Now she didn’t feel like…the oddball. She was used to being with three men on the adventure but it was nice to have someone of the same sex with them.  
They had traveled far and arrived at the Cavern of Ice. They had run into several strong opponents, Ochus and Neochus for example, and more Piscodemons and Mindflayers, but the Cavern of Ice was the worst that they have dealt with in puzzles and corners of the cave.  
“So,” Ferris decided to begin. “If Zera is still alive, then that means that Garland is alive still too, right? So where is he at?”  
“Maybe he’s more wounded than she is.” Kari offered.  
“That may be, but it doesn’t give us answers to what their plan is.” Light replied.  
“We might not, but do you?” Mac glanced at Cosmos.  
The woman continued to move, that small grin on her face as it had been since she decided to join them. “And why would I know?”  
“Well, you are the one that sent us to Cornelia,” Kari told her. “That was the start of everything.”  
“I have many answers,” Cosmos answered. “Some that would only confuse you more than the last. I have ideas to what is behind their ideas, but none that I’m sure are true.”  
“So, what do we do?” Ferris asked. “Do we set a trap for the woman at the next crystal?”  
“What?”  
Cosmos’ question was ignored as Light nodded. “We might be able to get some answers out of her.”  
“If she doesn’t give them willingly, then we’ll beat it out of her.” Kari growled.  
Cosmos paused midstride for just a moment before continuing to move. “Perhaps things should be taken smoother. All answers will come with time. Be patient. You’re halfway through this battle, my friends.”  
“Halfway,” Kari sighed. “And then we get to go back home. I can’t wait to see ma and pa again.”  
Cosmos paused again but only watched as the group moved on ahead of her. She wore a soft frown on her face as her mind raced. This…was she making the right choice?  
Light noticed that the woman in white had stopped moving and paused himself, turning back to glance at her. “Are you alright?”  
Cosmos blinked and began to walk again. “Yes, I’m fine.” She cleared her throat and passed him. “The Desert is not too much further. We’ll be there before nightfall.”  
Mac paused himself and waited for Light to move up beside him. “She knows more than she’s telling.”  
“Of course she is,” Light replied. “She seems to have a history with the two traitors.”  
“I have a feeling…that perhaps Cosmos and Zera are somehow related.” Mac commented, keeping his voice low.  
“Related?” Light raised a brow.  
“Indeed. The golden hair and those blue eyes; they’re the same. Sisters perhaps?”  
“If that is so, it just brings up more and more questions.”  
“It might also mean that perhaps Kari’s dislike of this woman was to be trusted.”  
Light gave a firm frown. “We shall see.”  
The Ryukahn Desert wasn’t too much further ahead and Cosmos led them a little ways inside before turning to Ferris. “The Levistone, of you would.”  
“What exactly are we here for?” The man asked and he rummaged through his sack.  
“It will help you in your journey. Make things easier and faster.”  
“Is that right,” Ferris wore a frown and then handed the blonde the stone. “Well, prove it.”  
“And so I shall.” Turning from the group, Cosmos tossed the stone out into the sand. Kari gave a cry, about to complain about how hard it had been to acquire that, but the ground beneath their feet began to rumble. The entire group watched in awe as a large ship began to emerge out of the sand. As Kari watched the fans whirl round and round, Kari felt her face grow white.   
“An airship?” She turned her gaze back to Cosmos. “And airship!?” She turned from the other woman and stared at the ship again. She felt her knees begin to grow weak at the very thought of even getting on that thing, let alone actually riding it.  
“Sweet!” Ferris cried, running for it.  
“Is this really ours?” Light asked the woman as Mac moved after his brother.  
“Indeed.”  
“But none of us know how to fly this thing,” Kari began. “We can’t take this.”  
“Don’t worry,” Cosmos continued to smile. “That’s what I am here for.”  
“You’re coming with us?” Kari glanced back at her.  
“Indeed,” Cosmos smiled. “You would have no idea what to do without me,” She moved closer to Kari and placed an arm around her shoulders. “Don’t worry dear. An airship is like a sea ship. You’ll get your legs soon enough.”  
Kari gave a frown. ~I really hate flying.~ She didn’t know why, but since she was young the very thought of flying through the air frightened her; made her sick. She didn’t even let her adopted father toss her in the air like he had down with Mac and Ferris.  
“Where are we going now?” Light asked Cosmos and the three of them moved to join Mac and Ferris again.  
“I would like to take you to the third crystal, but I need to make sure that you and your friends are ready for what follows. It will only get harder from here. Instead, I’m going to take you to see a friend of mine.”  
“And where is this friend of yours located.”  
“In the Citadel.”  
The area that Cosmos was talking about was the Citadel of Trials, northwest from the desert for nearly a day’s journey and the Citadel turned out to be a run—down sort of castle. Cosmos landed and told them to enter the castle, saying that she would wait here for their return. This was something they had to do on their own. Ferris made his lovable comments about Cosmos again before they moved through the small forest to reach the castle.   
“What do you thinks inside there?” Kari asked as they stared up at the large doors.  
“A dragon maybe?” Mac offered.  
“If it is, I’m out of here,” Ferris commented, pushing the heavy door and leading the way inside.  
They didn’t find a monster though, just an old man in red that was standing there in the middle of the ruined, gray room. His eyes held bags and circles under them, signaling that he was in need of a serious nap.  
“So, you are the ones that Cosmos deems worthy, hmm?” The elder man gave the group another look over and didn’t seem impressed. “I had been expecting people with more experience, but The Woman in White has never been wrong before. I shall let you undergo the Trials. Go now,” He turned and waved a hand behind him. “The Thrones await you.” Light glanced at the seats waiting on them. “Your courage will be put to the test. If true courage dwells within you, you will find profit of it here.”  
Kari went to make a comment but the man disappeared. “Why does that always happen?”  
“It’s fate,” Ferris replied. “And it follows you like a mad man, Kari. What the heck did you do as a kid to be cursed like this?”  
She just stared at him, not sure how to answer. ~If I knew, I would tell you…~  
Mac, realizing his brother’s words had hit a sore spot, whacked Ferris in the back of the head as he moved past him, heading for the thrones.  
“What the hell was that for?!”  
Kari shook her head and moved after them, taking a seat of her own.  
The Thrones turned out to be a teleporter that warped them deeper into the Citadel. It turned out this was just some type of dungeon just like everything else that they had been through since this journey started. Ferris threw a fit about having to keep going through levels and levels of areas but he was happy that this one wasn’t underground like the last few had been.  
Throughout the floors of the Citadel, there were warp panels littered around, giving them passages further into the castle. Next to treasures they found and enemies they fought, Kari felt that her stamina didn’t dissipate. Actually, the further they went in, the better she felt. She was going to make a comment about it when the group found another set of thrones waiting for them in the next room.  
“Does this mean we win?” Mac asked when they returned to the entrance of the castle.  
“That’s it? That’s all? We just went through all of that and there’s no one here to congratulate us? Not even a reward?!”  
“Always quick to jump to conclusions,” They turned to see that the old man was standing behind them. “It seems that Cosmos was correct. You are, indeed, worthy of his blessings,” He closed her eyes as more questions just ran through the groups heads. “He waits for you in the Dragon Caves, brave Warriors of Light. Go and obtain your reward.”  
“The Dragon Caves?” Kari sounded surprised at the old man disappeared again.  
“You know of it?” Light asked her.  
“A little; but just from an old book. It’s also known as the Cardia Islands. It said that a group of non-aggressive dragons live there, ruled by their king, Bahamut. It’s said that Bahamut resides in the island to the Southeast.”  
“And this is where we have to go now?” Ferris frowned. “This isn’t some damn game. We need to get out there and save the other two Crystals.”  
“But Cosmos said-”  
The Red Mage cut the warrior off. “I don’t care what she said! I’m starting to think that Kari was right. This woman has something planned behind us and we’re just her chess pieces or something! I’m starting to get tired of trusting her.”  
“I understand how you feel,” Mac told his brother. “I have begun to have my own doubts with this woman.”  
“What do you think?”  
Kari lifted her head again as Light spoke to her. She gave a frown. “It’s true that Cosmos has secrets, but who doesn’t? The woman has done us no harm and, instead, has led her truthfully from the start of this journey to now. Until she breaks that, I would say…we continue to trust her.”  
“Then that is our answer.” Light told the two brothers, turning to leave the Citadel.  
“Who the hell made you boss?” Ferris grunted, moving after the other man. Mac gave a smirk and rustled Kari’s hair as they followed the other two outside. Cosmos was waiting for them on the ship with a large smile.  
“I see you passed.” She commented. “Congratulations.”  
“Does this mean we get an answer as to why we had to do that?” Kari began. “Or do we have to wait and see until after we meet the dragon king?”  
“Patience is a virtue,” Was her answer as she began to move the ship.   
Ferris shared a look with the other woman before rolling his eyes and moving towards his brother at the front of the ship. Kari gave a sigh and headed below deck to try and run from the fact that they were flying; it made her sick.  
The Cardia Islands were only about a thirty minute journey from the Citadel of Trials and, just as Kari had said, Cosmos landed their airship on the Island to the Southeast and led the way off.  
“Oh, are you coming with us this time?” Ferris asked her.  
“Yes,” The woman nodded. “I haven’t been back to see Bahamut since I began to help you with your quest.”  
“Is that ri-wait, what!?” Ferris looked at the woman like she was crazy.   
She chuckled. “Is it strange to hear that this is where I live?”  
“You live here?” Mac rose his brows. “But how?”  
“Bahamut had taken me when I was nothing but a lost woman, searching for her place in this world. Without him, I doubt that I would be as sane as I am today.”  
“No wonder she’s weird,” Ferris commented with a huge grin. “That’s so hot.”  
Kari rolled her eyes as Cosmos disappeared down a pair of steps. “I thought you were mad at her.”  
“Was I?”  
Giving a eyeroll of his own, Light moved after Cosmos, dropping in through the stoned underpass into the halls of the dragon kingdom. Several of the dragons were there, surprised to see other humans as they gave greetings to Cosmos as she led them through the halls to the main room of the King. Even more of the dragons were there in that room, and every dragon turned and stared at the group that joined them in the great hall.  
“Oh God, we’re going to die.” Ferris cried.  
“Stop acting like a fool.” Mac told him.  
“Listen to your brother,” Cosmos smiled as she led the way down the path. “And don’t look in his eyes. It’s not often that humans make their way into his kingdom.”  
“But you live here, right?” Kari commented.  
Cosmos smiled. “Indeed I do, but as I said, humans don’t often make their way here.”  
Light paused for a moment and shared a look with Mac before they reached the King. Twice the size of the other dragons, Bahamut was every ounce of frightening and power as his purple and yellow scales shone from the lit fireplace behind him.  
“You have returned.” His powerful voice spoke to Cosmos, ignoring the ones with her.  
“Indeed, but for only a short while.” The woman in white turned and spread a hand out towards the four behind her. “I present to you the Warriors of Light, Lord Bahamut.”  
The fierce eye turned from the blonde woman and to the others. Kari felt her nerves tremble as his eyes turned to her; a lot longer than the others. “So…this is the one?” Like a damn spider, the dragon moved forward and circle around the young woman, his nose taking in a deep smell.  
“Bahamut,” Cosmos gave a plea, her eyes worried as Light had placed a hand on his sword. Every dragon in the hall froze, readying themselves if the foolish warrior were to attack their king.  
The dragon gave a chuckle. “Stay your hand, boy.” The large Dragon returned to his previous spot and took in the warriors again. “Long has it been since men of courage stood before me,” Bahamut began. “Your bravery would seem worthy of consideration. The very fact that the Woman in White stands beside you is a fitting token of courage and strength, as does the rat’s tail you carry from the Citadel of Trials. And with that, I shall honor you with titles befitting your valor!”  
“Titles?” Kari repeated. “But what does that-”  
Bahamut’s roar cut her off. The wind blew fierce over their skin and they shielding their eyes as a strange feeling passed over them.  
“What the-?” Ferris’ voice made Kari open her eyes again. Something felt different now. She felt…stronger. She didn’t know how to explain it but the Dragon had done something to them; and their clothes.  
Light was the one that still looked nearly the same with the pale blue armor with the gold details. His horned helmet had changed into a smaller guard though as his cape had changed into a golden color. His silver hair went well with the new helmet.   
Kari’s outfit had changed completely. Sticking with the green color, she wore a mesh shirt beneath a short sleeved shirt tied closed at each hip. With matching, light pants and soft boots, her bandana had turned into some kind of headdress as a mask came up and covered her face.  
Mac still kept to the yellow and purple colors, his long pants the same but his vest had disappeared, leaving just a large cape with a set of shoulder armor spreading out on either side of his neck. His headband had disappeared, leaving his light blond hair falling into a spike-like look.  
Ferris was close to the same as well. His white shirt now held more ruffles on the collar as his red jacket was lined in golden trim, much like his hat as the white feather had been turned longer and more extravagant.   
“A Knight,” Cosmos began, staring at the group. “A Ninja, a Master, and a Red Wizard. Now you are truly worthy of the name Warriors of Light.”  
“This is awesome!” Ferris was completely happy with his new look and took a look at all the others. He laughed at Light. “Ha! I guess you weren’t good enough to get a robe-change!”  
“Or,” Light began with a cool smile. “I was good enough to where one was not needed.”  
Mac and Kari laughed at him before the woman turned to the other. “You could have just told us, you know.”  
“Yes,” Cosmos nodded. “But then that would have ruined the surprise.”  
“So, babe,” Ferris struck a pose for Cosmos, pulling her away from his friend. “What do you think? Am I hot enough for ya now?”  
Kari rolled her eyes and turned back to Bahamut. “Thank you, Dragon King.”   
The Dragon King shook his head. “There is nothing to thank, my child, just restore the Crystals to grace…set a wounded mind free from this world.”  
Kari stared at him in confusion for a moment before she turned and glanced at the laughing Cosmos.


	13. The Water Crystal

“Now, the Water Crystal is in a tricky spot. It is confined in a kingdom that fell under water eons ago.”  
“How did I know that was coming?” Ferris shook his head.  
“But if it’s underwater, what are we going to do?” Kari asked. “How are we going to get to it?”  
“Don’t tell me you have another ship that can go underwater hidden somewhere.” Ferris looked her over.  
Cosmos shook her head with a smile. “No, but I do have this,” She pulled out a large, clear bottle of water.  
“And this is?”  
“This is Oxyale,” She handed Light the bottle. “As long as you have this, you can breathe underwater for as long as you want.”  
“Oh really?” Ferris looked at the bottle suspiciously.   
“I heard that all sources ran out years ago,” Kari commented. “How did you get it?”  
“From a Faerie.” The woman answered. They all just stared at her. “There is a few places of Oxyale left in the land, like in the springs below Gaia, but only faeries have the ability to draw it out. A few years ago I helped a faerie that had been bottled up by a group of jerks that wanted to sell her. She said that she would grant me any favor and for that, I got this.”  
“And you’ve been holding onto it for years?” Light raised a brow.  
“Yes. I never had any need for it; until now.” She smiled at the group. “We shall rest here in Onrac tonight and then head to the sunken city tomorrow.”  
“A night in a non-moving bed? I’m sold!” Ferris took off into the small city before them, leaving the others to follow.  
“Will the Airship be all right without anyone onboard it?” Light asked.  
Cosmos nodded. “No one else in the world knows how to fly it, so yes. That, and if they try to board it, I’ll know from the barrier spell I placed on it.”  
“Well, that works,” Kari sighed. “I feel like a nice, really long bath.”  
“Yes, that does sound nice, doesn’t it?” Cosmos smiled. “I heard that the Inn here has a Hot Spring. How about the two of us give it a visit before dinner?”  
“That would be awesome,” Kari smiled.  
“Would you ladies let me join you?” Ferris asked.  
“No way in hell.”  
“Ladies only, I’m afraid.”  
“You guys are no fun.”  
“Just go get some supplies, Ferris,” Mac told his brother. “I’ll go get us some rooms.”  
Ferris paused for a moment, watching his brother walk off, but he didn’t call after him. Instead, he turned to Cosmos. “Would the lovely lady care to join me in town?”  
“Why not?” She smiled. She glanced at Kari. “The Hot Springs later?”  
“Of course. I think I’m going to go take a nap. I don’t sleep very easily on that airship.” She stretched her arms and gave a yawn. “See you guys at the inn.”  
She trudged after Mac, staying silent as he got the rooms. One for the boys and one for her and Cosmos. Mac thought that she would excuse herself to the other room but she followed him into his. Giving a silent sigh, Mac leaned back on the pillows and stared up at the ceiling above him.  
“You’re very quiet today, Mac,” Kari commented, taking a seat on the bed beside him. “Ever since Cosmos started talking about the next Crystal. Want to tell me what’s on your mind?”  
Things were silent for a while.  
“I…I can’t swim.” Mac finally admitted softly. “Since that time I nearly drowned as a child I have been afraid of water. I was only able to deal with the pirate ship because we were either killing things that attacked us or I was sleeping.” Kari mentally slapped herself. How could she have forgotten that? She was there when he nearly drowned. If she and Ferris hadn’t have been there then he would have died.   
“I didn’t know you were feeling that way, I’m sorry.” She glanced at him. “If you want to stay here then the three of us can do this on our own.”  
“No,” Mac shook his head. “Never. I’ll…I’ll get over my fears better if I go with you. After all, with the Oxyale we can breathe, right?”  
“Yeah.” Kari nodded. “You should tell people how you feel more, Mac. Bulking it up inside doesn’t help.”  
“But how could I tell someone that? My brother would laugh in my face.”  
“Ferris is a dick, that’s true, but he’s also your brother. Our brother. He cares for you just as much as I do. Besides, I understand how you feel,” Kari told him. “Flying scares the hell out of me. I can only deal with this ship because you all are with me and I know that if I were to fall, you would try everything to save me. Hell, I might even say that one of you would jump off after me. Don’t worry. Whatever happens, Mac, we will make sure that you get out of this next area alive. Just like we made sure that Ferris got out of the underground dungeon and just like we got Light out of the Volcano. Us Warriors of Light won’t let any of the others die.”  
Mac gave a silent and ruffled her hair. “You always do know how to make me feel better. Thanks, Kari.”  
She grinned. “Hey, that’s what sisters are for, right?” She stood up again. “Get some rest and stop worrying about tomorrow. Everything’s going to be fine.”  
“Right. Sleep well, Kari.”  
“You too.” Kari gave a jump when she found Light waiting on the other side of the door. “You could have come in,” She told him as the door closed again.  
“I figured the two of you would like to finish your conversation,” He answered her. “Don’t worry. He’ll stay safe tomorrow.”  
“I know he will,” She nodded. “Because I’ll be there. And so will you and Ferris. As I said, we wouldn’t let anything bad happen to any of us.”  
“You’re right,” Light moved closer to her, his helmet clutched in his left hand. “We wouldn’t let anything happen to one of us. And you were also right about something else, Kari,” He reached forward and curled her hair behind her ear. “If you were to ever fall, I would jump after you.”  
Kari felt her limbs freeze and though her mind was screaming for her body to move away from Light’s touch, she couldn’t. “You-you heard that, huh?”  
“Of course. I didn’t want to just step into the middle of it,” He admitted. “And your words made me think.” His face was close;; his hand moved to lightly cup the side of her neck. “I should have known that you were afraid. I could have done something to make you feel better and safer.”  
“If you didn’t know, then that just means that I’m getting better at cloaking my feelings. That’s what a ninja’s good at, right?” She gave a half-hearted laugh.  
“Yes, but you’re not just some ordinary ninja, now are you?”  
Kari raised a brow, her stomach twisting in knots as Light continued to just hold and stare at her. “I’m not? Then what am I?”  
Light’s answer wasn’t words, but a kiss. Kari was lost at first but she soon let herself melt into it, still not believing that this was actually happening. For Light to kiss her…this wasn’t a dream, was it?  
Light had pulled back and placed his forehead to hers. “Just wait a little longer. When all this is over, I will be able to finally give you everything that you deserve.” Kari could only stare, lost in a daze and Light gave a smirk before placing another soft kiss on her lips. “Go get some sleep. We’ll need you to be at your best tomorrow. Can’t hav you looking like this during the big fight.”  
That knocked her out of it. “Please. You’ll be struggling to keep up with me.”  
He smirked again and slipped past her and into the room that he and the brothers would be sharing.  
Kari still stood there for a moment before giving a little victory dance. She thought that she love for Light would go unnoticed but for him to do that…she felt like she was flying amongst the clouds again, and this time she didn’t feel like coming down any time soon.  
As Kari walked off towards the room she and Cosmos were to share, Ferris watched her from around the corner. He gave a smile and shook his head. “About damn time.”

 

_~Get out your guns  
The battle’s begun  
Are you a Saint or a Sinner?~_

 

“So, here’s a question,” Ferris began that next morning as the group moved towards the lake. “How are we going to get to the sunken palace? Swim down there?”  
“We wouldn’t make it that far,” Kari told him. “We wouldn’t be able to breath.”  
“That’s what we got the Oxyale for, remember?” Light smiled at her.  
Kari pulled a face. “Oh yeah.” Ever since the exchange between her and that man last night, she couldn’t even look him in the face without blushing or letting a huge smile creep up on her face. She knew that she was going to have to keep her mind set on defeating the enemy and restoring the crystal but how could she with him so close?  
“Yeah, yeah, yeah,” Ferris came to a stop by the docks at the lake. “We’ve got the Oxydale, so what? That doesn’t answer my previous question.  
“You…you have Oxyale?” The shocked voice made them all glance at the woman standing on the dock that none of them had noticed.  
“Keep your mouth shut, Ferris!” Kari growled at him.  
“Hey! Light said it too!”  
Everyone ignored him and listened to the woman. “You’re the ones we’ve been waiting for! The Warriors of Light! Please, please save the mermaids!” They watched as she jumped into the water and her legs turned into a fin.  
“Well, you don’t see that every day.” Mac commented.  
“Ain’t that the truth?” Ferris sighed. He glanced at the barrel-like object before them. “What is this?”  
Cosmos gave him a smile. “This machine will take you to the sunken castle. I would tell you to be careful, but I have no doubt in my mind that the four of you will do just fine.”  
“You mean you’re not coming with us?” Light asked.  
Cosmos shook her head. “Not on this part. I’ve done all I can for you, Warriors of Light. The rest is up to you.”   
“Will you be okay out here by yourself?” Kari asked her.  
Cosmos smiled at the other woman and placed a hand on her head. “I’ll be just fine. Just be sure to look after yourself and hurry back to me, okay?”  
“Don’t worry,” Ferris grunted, moving into the strange barrel first. “Buttercup there will be back safe and sound.”  
“Shut it!” Kari growled, stomping on his hand once as she followed him next. Cosmos gave Mac and Light a wave farewell as she watched them make the descent into the water.  
“Ferris, whatever you do, don’t use electricity down here. Since we’re under here as well, we’re not sure that we’ll be effected by it as well or not.” Mac told his brother.  
“Yeah, I wouldn’t have thought about that,” Ferris sighed. “What good would electrocuting ourselves be?”  
“Holy crap,” Kari’s words grabbed the brothers and they turned to see that she had been looking out of the small window. “Is that the Sunken Shrine?!”  
“Bullshit!” Ferris cried. “That think is huge! How in the hell is there going to be enough Oxyale for us to go through that whole damn thing?! We’re gonna get lost and fight and-”  
“Stop freaking out, Ferris,” Light told the other man, shooting a nervous look at Mac; the man’s face was hard but his eyes were alight with multiple feelings. “All we have to do is move fast and find the Water Crystal soon. Cosmos wouldn’t have sent us down here if she didn’t have faith in us.”  
“He’s right,” Kari agreed as the machine came to a stop at the entrance of the Sunken Shrine. Everything will be just fine.”  
All four of them had the fear that the Oxyale wasn’t going to work and they were all going to drown but when they sucked in a huge gulp of air, they were all happy.  
This was pretty much like the other shrines had been. Treasure chests of supplies and treasure were found. From Gil to weapons and potions and other things. The enemies ranged through mostly water monsters from sharks to elementals to even Nagas. The strangest think about this shrine, though, was that there were a bunch of mermaids being held captive here. They unlocked their cells and set them free, but they told the group that they would not be able to leave the actual grounds of the Sunken Shrine until Kraken, the Fiend of Water, was destroyed. One of the Mermaids gave them directions to the room Kraken was residing in and they were off for another Boss Fight.  
Mac tried to keep himself calm while going through all this. He succeeded for most of it but as they got closer and closer to the final chamber, he felt his panic swarming up more and more in his mind. This was the Kraken. He was one of the four Fiends of Legend. A little Oxyale wasn’t going to stop him from making the four of them drown underwater. He had to get in there and kill this…this thing before things got too serious. He would be able to do that, wouldn’t he?  
“And here we are,” Ferris placed his hand on the large, silver knob, and glanced at the trio behind him and the large, blue door. “Are we ready for this?”  
Kari glanced at Mac but the man stayed silent, staring straight ahead at the door. She gave a nod as she glanced back at her other brother. “Let’s get in there and kill this thing twice as fast as the others.”  
“I agree,” Light nodded. “But Ferris…perhaps you should stay out here.”  
Ferris raised a brow. “What? Why do you say that?”  
“Your attacks are through magic, Ferris.” Light told him.  
“So?”  
Kari understood what the Knight was trying to say. “You can’t use electricity, fire underwater would never work, wind would only do a little, and other water  
attacks would probably heal this thing. Ice would probably freeze the entire room and effect us all. The best you would probably do is healing us and half the Kraken’s water attacks with Nul spells and Barriers.” Ferris was silent as his head hung and his hand slipped from the doorknob. She pulled a face and moved forward to him. “I don’t mean that in a bad way, Ferris, I swear! The elements just have us on this one.”  
“I know,” The Red Wizard sighed. “But…I can hide behind some rocks or something and heal you guys. Just…please. Please don’t make me stay out here and wonder what’s going on in there.”  
Mac moved forward and grabbed the doorknob, leading the way inside. Light moved up beside the Red Wizard and gripped his shoulder. “Just stay out of harm’s way, Ferris. I don’t know if Mac would be able to see you hurt.”  
Giving a nod, Ferris followed them all inside the room, a set look on his face.  
There was another large white podium much like the other Crystal Caves they had been in. this time with a large, blue orb that stood guard in front of the dull crystal and the portal that would take them back up to land.  
“All right, Kraken!” Kari cried out as Ferris slipped off through the ruined room. “Show your face!”  
 _“Hmph. You humans do impress…I would not have thought to see you here.”_  
The rumbling voice made Mac’s insides squirm like worms. ~Just stay calm and believe in yourself; everything will be fine.~   
_But do you really think you can defeat the Fiend of Water here in my own domain? Fools! These dark depths shall be your tomb!”_  
Kari blinked. “Looks like we have Calamari for dinner tonight, guys!”  
Ferris’ laugh could be heard from the back of the room and Light couldn’t help but chuckle himself but Mac was not amused.  
The Kraken was huge and blue, like a human-cephalopod hybrid with a large, purple cape around what would normally be shoulders on a human. The thing was standing on its tentacles, towering over the Warriors of Light, almost taller than Marilith had been.  
The squid wasted no time in slithering forward for an attack. This was his element. Fighting a squid in water was a horrible idea but what else was there to do. Light’s armor kept him to the floor but the water made his moves to slow to where the Fiend could just dodge past him and land a blow. It was lucky that Ferris was good at hiding and close by to give the other man a healing spell. Kari didn’t wear armor and so she was stuck floating in the water but she agile, and a fast swimmer so she could keep up with the squid more than the others could. She would use the sides of the room to give her a good push off and landed a few good sword slashes across the squid. That pissed him off though and it had squirted ink into her face, blinding her and stinging her.  
“Kari!” Mac cried out as he tried to move towards the woman but as he didn’t know how to swim he was at a lost as it looked like he was just flopping around in the middle of the water.  
“I got her!” Ferris shot out and grabbed Kari, pulling her back with him. He was going slower though, and the Kraken didn’t like the thought of the Red Wizard grabbing his Ninja. Ferris shoved Kari away, leaving her to float in the water, trying to rub the ink out of her face as the squid wrapped its tentacles around the man with a dark laugh.  
“Ferris!” Light moved forward for an attack, trying to jump up and reach the duo but his armor kept him stuck close to the bottom.  
Mac felt his fear rising higher and higher; but not for him. For Ferris and Kari, and even Light. There was no way that they were going to defeat this Fiend like this! But what could he do?!  
It came to him like a inner voice in his head. A battle tactic that he hadn’t used since their events in Lufenia. Taking a deep breath, he didn’t have to wait for his feet to hit the bottom of the chamber before he could hunch over and summon up his strength. This was the only chance that they had. If this didn’t work, then they were screwed.  
Kari finally removed all the ink from her eyes just in time to see a gold light shining off of Mac. She had seen this once before and swam back, her hands clasped together in prayed that Ferris stayed safe.  
“Ki-O-Ken!”  
Mac shot off the ground like there were rockets on his feet and he slammed straight into the Kraken. The blow loosened Ferris from the Fiends’ grip and he joined the other two in watching as Mac slammed the squid into the wall, pounding hit after hit into the creature.  
“Wow…” Ferris stared at his brother in awe. The Kraken had been beaten into the wall, ink and blood just spilling over the water and floating around as Mac softly drifted down to the blue Crystal that had begun to shine a bright light. “You…mutilated that thing, Mac.”  
“He shouldn’t have laid a hand on you,” Mac told his brother. “I won’t tolerate someone trying to hurt my family.”  
“Aww, I feel so loved,” Ferris teased. “Who knew that Mac was so protective?”  
“Uh, we all did,” Kari told him. “He always has been.”  
“Shut it, Kari.”  
Light shook his head and glanced at the blue Crystal that had returned to it’s former glory like the other two had. “Just one left.”  
“Yeah, the Wind Crystal.” Kari then hung her head. “And something tells me that this Crystal is going to be somewhere high.”  
“Well. If it is,” Mac smiled at her. “Then there will be no need for you to fear; we’ll be there with you.”  
“Oh, don’t tell me that you’re afraid of heights, Kari.”  
“Shut up, Ferris!”

 

_~Get out your guns  
The battle’s begun  
Are you a Saint or a Sinner?~_

 

“These Fiends truly are more bark than bite. It’s a shame.” Zera shook her head, staring up at what was left of the Kraken in the wall. Jumping up to float towards the blue, dismantled body, she wore a frown on her face as she took a knife and cut away one of the tips of the tentacles. Proof, for when she returned; just like the other two. She found herself praying that Tiamat was better than the other Fiends.  
“Ooh.” Zera gave a grunt and placed a hand over her stomach. “Calm down there,” She smiled. “I’ll get you some food soon.” She placed her feet back on the floor of the chamber. “We need to hurry back; Garland will begin to worry if we’re not back soon.”  
“I don’t think that you’re going anywhere this time, Zera.”  
The ex-General froze at the voice before turning to take in the Warriors of Light. The group had stayed behind this time, laying a trap to capture her. She should have known. Normally she would have, but her mind had been on more important things.  
“I knew letting you fools see me was a bad idea,” Zera sighed to herself again. “What is this? Do you want another shot at me just to fail in killing me like you had last time?”  
“Not just yet, Zera,” Light kept his blade pointed at the blonde woman. “I want answers first, and I’m willing to get them in any way necessary.”


	14. Garland, Zera, Chaos, and Cosmos

“I must admit that I am impressed. Disappointed with the Fiends, but impressed that the four of you have been able to make it this far without dire casualties. Warriors of Light indeed.”  
Kari gave a scowl. The smirk on this woman’s face just really, really pissed her off. “Well, that’s your fault for not getting better creatures then, isn’t it?”  
Zera still wore that smirk. “Hmm. Perhaps. Garland’s not going to like the sound of this,” She sighed to herself.  
“Speaking of Garland,” Light held his sword steady. “Tell me, how are the two of you still alive?”  
“What makes you think that I’m going to tell you anything?” Zera asked him. “We’re not bothering anyone; why bother me?”  
“Not bothering anyone?” Ferris snorted at her. “You’re the ones that set the Fiends on the Crystals!”  
“And what in your mind makes you think that?” Zera asked him, that smirk still on her face. “These Crystals have been out of commission for over a hundred years, have they not?”  
“They-” Ferris paused in his reply and glanced at Light. “She’s got a point. And I seriously doubt that they’re following THEIR orders. If WE beat her and Garland, then there’s no doubt in my mind that these creatures could kill them.”  
“And yet here she is,” Mac commented, crossing his arms. “Still alive.”  
Zera watched as the four of them argued amongst each other and gave a sigh minutes later, unable to take it anymore. “Look, either do what you’re planning or let me get back. We’re hungry.”  
“We?” Mac raised a brow.  
“I don’t care what you say,” Kari grabbed her own sword now and moved forward past Light. “You’re not going anywhere. I’m not going to just let you slip away and come back and cause more problems for us later!”  
Zera’s smirk fell and her face turned into a snarl. “Does talking like that make you feel strong? Does holding that sword at me make you feel big? What’s wrong? Did your parents not teach you any better? All you do is cower behind that blade, praying that you strike true. Warriors of Light? Please. All the four of you are, are just brats and fools wanting glory from the morons willing to give it.”  
“We defeated you.” Kari growled at her.  
“Did you? Why am I here?” Zera shook her head. “We only let you think that. You’re just children. Whatever made you think that you were even half of our power just proves that you’re fools. How you beat these Fiends, I’ll never understand, but don’t make the mistake of thinking that you will do the same to us!”  
“I told you!” Ferris stomped a foot. “I told you that that battle had been far too easy!  
“Yes, we realize that,” Kari grunted, her eyes not moving from the other woman. “But that doesn’t change a thing. Ferris has placed a caging spell on this chamber. You can’t leave unless we’re dead or we let you go. Pick which one you think it’s going to be.”  
Zera narrowed her eyes. “So, what do you plan on doing? Killing me?”  
“Yeah, I think that’s about right,” Ferris hissed. “With you gone, then there’s only Garland and the last Fiend to worry about and then we win.”  
“So, it’s either you kill us, or we kill you.” Zera closed her eyes for a moment before opening them again, a fierce look that reminded Mac of a mother bear. “Then come at us, oh ‘Warriors of Light’,” She sneered. “Let me show you how much damage a true warrior can do!”  
Zera wasted no time and rushed forward, paring her blade against Kari’s, her force knocking the younger woman off of her feet. Light moved next, knocking Zera away from Kari and making her focus on him. Zera was worse than the Kraken. She was covered in armor just like Light was, but she was still able to move like Kari did.  
“Enough of this shit!” Ferris hissed. He had stood by and watched as his companions got their asses handed to them by the blond woman and finally got tired of it. Casting a spell, they all watched as chains shot out of the ground and wrapped around the woman, locking her blade to her side. “Now, Kari!”  
“About damn time!” Kari, strengthening the grip on her blade again, ran for the other woman, her sword tip dead on for Zera’s chest.  
“NO!”  
The shout caught them all off, especially as it was accompanied by Ferris’ chains disintegrating. Zera took her freedom and blocked Kari’s attack before jumping back.  
“Cosmos?” Light sounded shocked. “What are you doing?”  
Cosmos had joined them now, placing herself between the Warriors of Light and Zera.  
“Get out of the way, Cosmos!” Kari growled, readying for another go at Zera. “She deserves to die!”  
“No! You can’t kill her!” The blond shook her head wildly, a pleading look on her face, but there was something else that Light could see. There was also fear. “If you kill her, you’ll only be killing yourself!”  
Kari froze. “What?”  
“You again,” Zera hissed at the Woman in White. “Haven’t I told you to leave me alone? Why must you keep interfering?!”  
“You’ve been on their side all along, haven’t you?” Ferris growled, tightening his grip on his staff.   
“I know you don’t understand,” Cosmos shook her head. “But please, you have to trust me! You can’t…you can’t kill them! You just can’t!”  
“What are you talking about? Who are them?! There’s only one person here that we want to kill! The other one is still hiding!”  
“No, there’s not,” Mac finally understood what was going on. He looked at Zera. “You’re pregnant, aren’t you?”  
Zera stayed silent, just glaring at the five of them, her brain trying to figure a way to get out of here.  
“Pregnant…” Kari let her sword drop a bit. Zera was pregnant? If she were to attack her…kill her…the child…  
“Pregnant or not, it’s with that bastards child!” Ferris screamed. “Striking them both down here and now would only bring good to the world!”  
“No!” Cosmos shook her head fiercely. “You have to believe me! Killing this child will ruin everything that you’re worked so hard for! Kari, please! You have to trust me!”  
It then clicked. Light’s eyes widened as he looked between the three women. He now understood why it was Kari that Cosmos was pleading with. “No, it’s not just Garland’s child. She’s pregnant with his daughter.” He looked at Kari. “Pregnant with you, Kari.”  
“What?!” Ferris and Zera echoed each other as Cosmos hung her head and Mac just watched in silence. Kari felt her arm drop down, all thoughts of attacking the woman lost.  
“Me? But…that’s impossible. How…I don’t…”  
“I know you don’t,” Cosmos looked up at Kari again. “But please, give me a chance to explain! If you strike her down, you’ll make the worst mistake of your life! Please, just trust me!”  
“I don’t have time for this!” Zera growled. Stomping a foot, they all watched as the woman disappeared in a cloud of smoke.  
“How did she do that?” Ferris growled. “My spell was still up!”  
“I opened the way for her,” Cosmos answered.  
Ferris pointed his staff at her. “Then why don’t we strike the traitor down instead.”  
“Ferris, stop it.” Mac told his brother.  
“But why? She just admitted to helping that woman escape! She’s been on her and Garland’s side since the beginning!”  
“We need answers, Ferris,” Light told the other man. “And she’s willing to give them.”  
“Oh? And how do we know that they’re going to be true? How do we know that she’s not tricking us even more?”  
“You don’t,” Cosmos told him. “But I ask that you at least listen to me. I can give you all the answers that you all have wanted since this all started.”  
“Start with this then,” Ferris growled. “Why are you here?”  
She looked at him in confusion. “What do you mean?”  
“It’s a simple question. Why are you here, ‘helping’ us with this journey?”  
Cosmos took a breath. “To make sure that you can succeed. If they win, then this world is lost forever and I don’t think that I would be able to bear that.”  
“But why us?” Mac asked her.  
“Because of you,” Cosmos looked at the woman who had remained silent. “Because you’re Zera’s daughter.”  
“Zera,” Light began, cupping his chin. “You know her? Who is she, your sister?”  
“No,” The woman cried, shaking her head. She turned from them. “I know Zera because she is close to me. She is my other side. I AM Zera!”  
The group stared at the Woman in White, the looks of shock just getting worse and worse. Light could see it though. She was older than Zera, but they looked like the same person. The blonde hair, the blue eyes. The laugh. Why hadn’t he seen it before?  
“How is that even possible?!” Ferris growled. “This isn’t making any sense!”  
“I know it doesn’t,” Cosmos shook her head and faced them again. “After that fight in the Chaos Shrine, the four Fiends, Lich, Marilith, Kraken, and Tiamat, were able to save us by pulling us back in time 2,000 years. I still don’t quite understand how it happened, but at that time it didn’t matter to me. I wanted nothing more than revenge. I helped Garland gain control of everything and in the end helped him become the fiend that he is today. I am the reason that Chaos was born.” Cosmos closed her eyes, battling her feelings. “For years I was by his side, following everything he said, doing everything that he wanted, but one day…”  
Light took a step forward. “One day what?”  
“It was when you were six,” Cosmos looked at Kari. The young woman refused to look back at her. “Garland had already sent the Fiends off to take care of the Crystals and he had chosen to follow and help Tiamat with the Flying Fortress. I watched as Garland tossed all those people from the skies, murdering children and other all for what? For a damn, glowing rock!” She was silent for a few moments longer before giving a sigh. “Back when all this started, I wouldn’t have given this a second thought but…after I had you, Kari, I believe I had a change of heart. It wasn’t long after that I met the Dragon Lord, Bahamut. He was a lot younger than he is now, but with his help I was able to escape what I had helped create and brought you here with me. I…I was weak. I didn’t believe that I was able to raise a child in the actions that I had taken and so, erasing what you knew of my and your father, I left you in the hands of someone I believed could. But I never left you!” Cosmos’ words finally made Kari look at her. She could see the tears that freely fell down the other woman’s face. “I searched for a way to redeem myself for the actions that I had chosen and the Dragons helped me, but I was there every chance I got. I watched as you were raised alongside Mac and Ferris. The ventures the three of you would make into the caves behind the village. The trips the four of you would make into the forests and search for buried treasure. I was there that day, watching as Ferris beat up one of the other village boys for making you cry. The day that the four of you decided to go off and become mercenaries, that was the day that I realized that the Warriors of Light had arrived. I knew that I wouldn’t have the strength to fight against Garland…against Chaos, and I had been searching for those Warriors of Legend for so long just to find they had been in front of me all this time.”  
Kari just stared at her in silence, letting her words sink in. Was what Cosmos saying really true?  
“If what you say is, indeed, true,” Mac decided to speak again. “Then how are you here while she was as well?”  
She shook her head. “I don’t have all the answers,” Cosmos removed her cloak and then turned to show them the scar that was visible due to the open back of the dress. “I can tell you, though, that this is the scar that you put on me during that first fight, Kari.”  
Kari bit her bottom lip. She remembered putting that wound on Zera’s back that night in the Chaos Shrine. If she had that…  
“This…this is all insane!” She cried. “There’s no way that any of this can be true! I refuse to believe it!”  
“I know you do,” Cosmos hung her head, pulling her cloak back on. “And it’s all my fault and I’m so sorry that I’ve put you through this. If only I had done things differently then things may not have gotten like this. If I had been stronger then I may have been able to change Garland over time but I wasn’t. This is all my fault and it pains me that I have to turn and ask you to finish what I couldn’t.”  
Light blinked. “You have done nothing but help us since the beginning,” He told her. “You’ve kept secrets, but nothing that changes what this is all about; restoring the crystals. If this Chaos or Garland or whatever he wants to go by now shows up, then we will do all in our power to stop him.” He gave her an assured smile. “All while keeping you and your baby alive.”  
Cosmos felt more tears fall down her face. “Thank you…”  
Kari watched her for a moment longer before deciding to speak again. “If…what you say is true, and I am your daughter, then why don’t I look like you?”  
“Because,” Cosmos lifted her hand and curled Kari’s hair behind her ear, trying to hold back more tears; and failing. “You look just like your father.”

 

_~Please don’t just play with me  
My paper heart will bleed  
This wait for destiny won’t do   
Be with me please, I beseech you~_

 

Zera wore a frown on her face as she moved through the shrine. As she ran everything about that Woman in White through her head, it made her more and more confused. It had been like looking in the mirror. That woman had been her, and she didn’t know how. She had also known that she had been pregnant; she hadn’t even told Garland yet. How had that woman known?  
“Is something bothering you?”  
The voice pulled Zera out of her thoughts and she gave a frown as she dropped her hand from her stomach. “Yes, octopus, there is. Yet another of the Fierce Fiends has been defeated by those brats,” She tossed the tentacle she had cut off at the feet of the younger Kraken. “Tell me, if they can beat you, how is this going to work out?”  
“Warriors of Legend indeed,” Marilith hissed as the Lich gave a chuckle.  
“The four of us have grown weaker over the last 2000 years, it seems,” Kraken gave a frown. “We must find a way to bring the Warriors back to our time; to when we’re at the height of our power!”  
“And just how are we going to do that?” Marilith growled.  
Lich pulled a grin and then glanced at an object that was behind them in the center of the shrine, the black light rebounding off of the walls. “I think I know how.”


	15. The Wind Crystal

Kari had accepted it. She didn’t want to at first but she finally did. Cosmos was Zera, and Zera was her Mother. It had been three days since the shocking events at the Sunken Shrine and Cosmos had driven the Airship to the city of Lufenia. Having been to the city before, Mac was easy to be the translator for the townspeople and the two boys. Kari didn’t want to leave the Airship and had been locked in her room since the Water Crystal. It was just this morning that she had ventured out, and for the strangest of reasons. She heard Cosmos humming a song; something that she hadn’t heard in years.  
It had been a lullaby that she had remembered being sang to her years ago. It was the one thing that she had always remembered of her mother. There was still doubt, but most of her had come to accept that what Cosmos had told them was true. She had finally joined the woman on the dock of the Airship and shared a soft conversation over the next part of this journey. Things grew soft soon after and as Cosmos told Kari storied from her childhood a question spread through her mind.  
“Just…what was it that made you and Garland change? Why did you kidnap the Princess?”  
Cosmos gave a sigh, setting her cup of tea down on the step beside her. “It’s been so many years now that I don’t even remember. By the time that Garland changed, I was already following him without a second thought. He was my best friend, a man that I had known my entire life. I had given everything that I was to him and would follow him to the ends of the world. And I did…until you were born. You were the light that showed me that I was making a mistake in continuing after Garland. The first Warrior of Light,” She sighed softly to herself.  
Kari gave a frown. “Did you try to talk to him? Change his mind and tell him to stop?”  
“Of course, but by that time I believe that it was too late. If we can stop him now, then perhaps things can change. Perhaps the darkness will never corrupt his soul and I…I wouldn’t have to give you away.”  
For anyone to hear that come from her mother’s mouth, they should have been happy, but all that did was strike fear in Kari’s heart. If all this did change things, then she would never meet Ferris and Mac. She would never meet…  
“We’re back.” Light’s voice grabbed both women and they stood up as the three men tracked up onto the Airship with fresh supplies and equipment.  
“Did you get it?” Kari asked them, trying to shove back her previous thoughts.  
“Of course we did,” Ferris held up the Chime that they had gone into the city for. “And this is going to get us into the Mirage Tower?”  
“Yes,” Cosmos turned from Kari with a large smile. “Now that we have that, we can head for the Yahnikkurm Desert. There the path to the Flying Fortress can be made through the Mirage Tower.”  
“This is an Airship, though. Why not just fly up there to the Fortress?”  
“Because Tiamat is unlike the other Fiends. She won’t just stand by and let you waltz right up to the Crystal. She would rain fire down the Airship and destroy us all. It might take a while to get all the way up to the clouds, but we will make it.”  
The Mirage Tower wasn’t too far from the city and Cosmos announced that she was going to travel with them through the Tower and the Fortress for the fight against the final Fiend. Ferris, back to his normal self around the Woman in White, continued to flirt and tell her that he wouldn’t let such a lovely lady take part in such a fierce battle. Mac rolled his eyes at his brother but did exactly what Ferris did in protecting Cosmos from the enemies.  
Kari stayed silent, thinking to herself as she helped strike down the Black Knights and the Guardians and the Dragons. There were chests littered everywhere and other spoils of the battles that would come in handy in the future. The floors seemed to be endless and the higher they went, the stronger the enemies got. Luckily they reached an empty floor with a Warp stone and they all stopped for a moments rest.  
“How are you holding up?”  
Turning from the window she had been gazing out of, Kari crossed her arms as she couldn’t bring herself to look at Light in the face. “I’m still hoping that all of this just turns out to be a dream and we’re still back home…but I know it’s not. Am I holding up well? Not at all, but I’ll just have to get over it and accept the fact that I’m…”  
Light nodded his head. “I can’t begin to imagine what’s going through your head right now, at least not all of it, but I want you to remember that I’m always going to be here for you when you need to talk or…or anything. After this is all over and you want to just run off and disappear into the wild, just let me know. I’ll follow after you until you’re ready to return.”  
She gave a small chuckle. “And just what if I decide I don’t want to return?”  
“Then it’ll just be the two of us until the end, won’t it? I think I could get used to that, don’t you?”  
Kari wanted to laugh, she really did, but Cosmos’ words from that morning hit her again. “If…if only that could happen.”  
Light raised a brow. “Why wouldn’t it?”  
“Cosmos said…she said that after we defeat Chaos then there could be a chance that…that everything would change. That Garland wouldn’t succumb to the darkness and that I wouldn’t be given…given to Mac and Ferris’ family.” She could see Light’s face turn from his grin to one of serious thought. “If…if we change them,” She could feel the tears swelling up. “If we change them then we won’t be together anymore. We will never meet, Light! You will be taken from me! All three of you would be.” Light, the love of her life, and Ferris and Mac, her brothers and best friends. If you took the three of them away from her, what was going to be left?  
“No matter what happens,” He grabbed her and pulled her face back to stare into her eyes. “No matter what anyone says or what you believe, I will find you, Kari. You are mine, and I won’t let even the gods change that. Have faith. I will have you. You are mine, Kari.”   
Kari let a smile break out. “And you are mine, Light.”  
He was right. All she had to do was have faith. Everything would work out in the end.  
“Is it true?” Mac’s voice was quiet as he looked at the blond woman beside him. Light and Kari had tried to keep their voices down but had failed.  
“I don’t know,” Cosmos shook her head. “We will only find out by defeating them.”  
“It doesn’t matter,” Ferris stood up with a firm face. “Kari is my sister, and nothing’s going to change that. It’s like Light said. We’ll find each other again. You can’t change over ten years of life; everything will return to normal.”  
Mac gave a smile at his brother and Cosmos mirrored it. ~I pray that you’re right.~  
The Flying Fortress was indeed just that, floating on the clouds in the sky. Kari felt herself getting sick when she looked over the sides and down at the earth and had to pull herself back, calling herself an idiot for even doing that in the first place.  
“Don’t worry,” Mac squeezed her shoulder as he passed her. “I won’t let you fall.” She gave a small grin before moving after him  
“These Fiends,” Ferris began. “You were friends with them all, were you not?”  
Cosmos gave a short nod. “I wouldn’t say friends, but I knew them.”  
“Is that why you won’t face them in battle?”  
“Does that bother you?”  
“No,” The Red Wizard shook his head. “I was just wondering. Which one was your favorite?”  
Cosmos was silent for a moment before turning to look at him. “It doesn’t matter anymore.”  
The enemies were twice as much and the treasures were beginning to weigh the group down. Mac said that it would be a good idea to leave their bags outside the final chamber when they faced the final Fiend. Cosmos offered to stand guard while they battled.  
“What is this?” Light held up a large stone of silverish purple.   
“It’s Adamantite,” Cosmos told them. “Keep it; it’ll come in handy later.”  
“What does it do?” Kari asked, but the woman had already turned from the room. This had to be hard on her. They were on their way to strike down Garland. It may have been years, but there was no doubt in her mind that Cosmos still loved that man, evil or not.  
They came to a pause at the large, green door of the Flying Fortress and their bags were stripped from their shoulders.  
“Here,” Cosmos waved a hand and the group felt all the wear and exhaustion flying from their bodies. “To face Tiamat, you will need to be full of energy. She is twice as hard as the others.”  
“Any advice or tips on how to kill her?” Mac asked.  
Cosmos shook her head. “When you see her, I’m sure that you’ll be able to figure out what to do.”  
“Nice,” Ferris grunted, moving into the room. The other two followed him.  
“Will you be okay out here?” Kari asked.  
Cosmos smiled at her. “I’ll be fine; and don’t worry. You will be too.” Kari smiled back at her and then followed the others through the door. Cosmos gave a sigh and hung her head as she took a seat on the stone railing. “I’m sorry, Tiamat.”  
The final chamber looked like the others with the dull Crystal on the center of the room. The teleport circle sat behind it as a large green orb guarded them both.  
 _“Lich, Marilith, Kraken…you have defeated three Fiends and reached my lofty perch.”_ The green orb transformed into a large, multi-headed dragon of teal and purple. _“More the better…may the image of Tiamat, the Fiend of the Wind, be the last to burn in your eyes!"_  
“Holy shit.” Ferris stared up at the dragon in a mix of awe and fear.  
“How…how do we fight that?!” Kari felt her knees shaking.  
“Together,” Mac answered her with a firm face.  
Light drew his blade. “And with strength and courage.”  
The dragon was the worst of the four Fiends, there was no doubt about that. This must have been why Cosmos had waited for the wind Crystal to be last. Her thunder attacks and ice storms were horrid and fast, quickly knocking Mac into the wall, quickly followed by Ferris before the two brothers jumped back in to help land a trio of attacks with Light.   
_“You,”_ Kari froze in her steps. She had been sneaking up behind the dragon while the other three had its attention but it seemed the dragon had a set of its eyes on her the entire time. She should have known better. There were six heads, after all and one of them turned to look at her. _“You’ve grown,”_ Tiamat growled. _“I remember when you were just a whelp, crying in your father’s arms.”_  
Kari looked surprised but wiped it away. As the other heads attacked the men, this one just stared at her. “You know me?”  
 _“Know you? Girl, I despise you!”_ Another of the heads joined in and began to shoot fire at Kari, making her dodge and run out of the way. _“You are the reason that Zera will leave! Not this time! I won’t let it happen again!”_  
“Happen again?”   
Kari didn’t understand and her mind worked as she continued to move out of the way of attacks and rebound them. Zera was still there with Garland and the Fiends, wasn’t she?  
 _“I will kill you here and now so this never happens again!”_  
“Freakin’ lunatic!” Ferris’ voice reached her as he fired another spell at the Fiend. “Just hurry up and die already, would ya? It would make us all really happy!”  
Tiamat’s answer was a roar and Kari felt herself shudder. This Fiend was much worse than the others; much stronger. How were they going to beat this one?  
 _“Use Tempest, Kari,”_ A soft voice rang through her head. _“Tiamat cannot dodge that.”_  
~And how do you know that?~  
 _“Because it was created to defeat her. Please, trust me. Your mind may not remember it, but your body will. Just let your body move!~_  
~This better work!!!!~  
Running towards the Fiend, Kari shoved all thoughts from her head as her blade was clenched in her hand. She then felt as her body jumped into a summersault, her blade being extended over her head before bringing the blade slashing down upon the heads of the dragon.  
Tiamat gave a roar and tried to grab the young woman in her teeth but failed as the blade sliced through the face and neck of the heads. One of the strikes landed true and lopped off the middle head, bringing the Fiend’s battle to an end.  
“Holy crap, Kari!” Ferris cried, running forward and grabbing his sister the moment her feet touched the ground again. “That was amazing! Where did you learn that?!”  
“I…I don’t know,” Kari shook her head. “I just…did it.” There was no way in hell that she was telling them about the voice in her. They already had problems without something stupid like that.  
“Good job, Kari.” Light smiled at her over Ferris’ head.   
She smiled back at him. “Yeah, it was sweet, wasn’t it?” ~Thank you, Crazy voice in my head.~  
The light returned to the green Crystal and Kari gave a sigh of relief. “It’s over now, right?”  
“Not quite.” Cosmos’ voice joined them to see the woman was standing by the door, staring at what was left of the dragon. She looked…paler now.  
“What is there now?” Ferris asked.  
“The four elements have begun to gather,” Cosmos told him. “In order to put a stop to all of this, we have to go where this all began.”  
“And where is that?”  
Cosmos stayed silent for a moment before finally ripping her gaze away from Tiamat’s body. “Chaos Shrine.”


	16. The Final Battle

“Right where it all started.”  
Cosmos opened her eyes in silence. They were standing in the Chaos Shrine the next day. This was where that fateful fight happened. When she and Garland faced the Warriors of Light for the first time; the fight they lost. She thought that she was going to die, and to the hands of a bunch of brats that should have had nowhere NEAR enough strength to even hold a candle to her strength at the time, but lost they had. But they had. If the Four Fiends, if Tiamat, had not used their powers to grab them just before they died, then none of this would have happened. She wouldn’t have grown stronger, she wouldn’t have had Garland’s child, and she wouldn’t have turned from his path of darkness and led their child down the path of the Warriors of Light to where she could grow strong enough to do what she could not; so their daughter could…  
“Cosmos?” Light’s voice made the elder woman give a slight jump and she turned. The four Warriors of Light were standing there, staring at her in silence; Kari with a look of worry. She smiled. To think, she hated these four brats for nearly ten years before she learned the truth.  
“This orb will take you 2000 years in the past to…to not only myself and Garland, but to the Fiends before they attacked the Crystals. They will be stronger, so be careful.” She waved a hand at the black orb that sat there in the golden podium. Kari remembered seeing it that day if the first fight. It was only two months ago but it felt like it had been much longer than that.  
“Yeah, well so are we!” Ferris growled, staring at the black orb before them.  
“Focus the power of the Crystals you have, and you will find the path.” She gave them all a huge smile. “Good luck.”  
“Wait, what do you mean?” Kari took a step towards her. “You’re coming with us, aren’t you?”  
“I’m afraid not.” She shook her head. “This is where I leave you. Anything that happens now is up to you, Warriors of Light. I pray that everything turns out right.”  
“But, if you’re there with us then we might have a chance of changing Garland’s mind! If you go with us, we could stop all of this!”  
“It’s not that simple, Kari,” Mac told her.  
“But why not?” Ferris joined in. “With her there, it could make all things easier.”  
“I’m afraid your friends are right,” Cosmos shook her head. “If I were to try and go back, nothing good would become of it. I’m not long for this world, anyway. The moment you pass through the portal, I will no longer be. All hopes of Zera changing into Cosmos…it rests on your shoulders now, Warriors of Light.”  
“But how can we do that?” Light asked her. “You found your own path after the birth of your child. This Zera has only begun her pregnancy. How can-” His voice faded and his eyes turned to look at the woman that stood beside him.  
Kari gave a sigh. “Always me, huh?”  
Cosmos gave her daughter a smile. “I’m sorry, Kari. If anyone can change me…then it’s you. You have once before, this time should be no different.”  
“But…but what if I can’t?” Kari asked her.  
Cosmos reached forward and pulled her daughter’s head close, placing a kiss on her forehead. “If anyone can change me, it’s you, my daughter. You may even get to change your father. Just have faith.”  
“Have faith,” She repeated. “Right.”  
Cosmos pulled away with a chuckle. “It will come to you, Kari. I have faith in all four of you. Now you only need to believe in yourselves just like I do; like the others in this world do.”  
“We are the Warriors of Light, after all,” Ferris grinned, pulling out the small, Earth Crystal he held.  
Mac pulled out his Water one. “We can’t back out now, right?”  
“Indeed we can’t. We’ve come so far now.” Light nodded, pulling out his Fire one.  
Kari stayed silent and pulled out the Wind Crystal and they all watched as the power flooded towards the black orb, making it glow in the dark room.   
“I guess that means it’s ready.” Ferris shoved his Crystal away again and stretched his back. “Shall we?”  
“Cosmos,” Kari turned to face the blonde but then bit her lip. “I mean…Mom,” Cosmos’ face turned to one of shock as Kari continued to speak. “You’ll…you’ll still be here when we come back, right?”  
The older woman was silent for a moment, her face clearly showing that she was struggling not to cry. “Of course, Kari. I’ll wait right here for you to return.”  
Kari gave a nod and turned back to the orb.  
Light reached over and squeezed her hand. “Are you ready?”  
Kari was silent for a moment, took a deep breath, and nodded her head. “Ready.” Ferris and Mac moved first, leading the way into the past, Light and Kari flowing right behind them.  
Cosmos closed her eyes and began to pray as she slowly felt her body begin to fade away…

 

_~The Dawn is breaking  
A light shining through  
You’re barely waking  
And I’m tangled up in you~_

 

The Chaos Shrine was much different. It was neater, clean and beautiful. They truly had been taken back in time; they had to have been.  
“This shit is getting really weird.” Ferris commented, gazing across the room.  
Kari stared at him like he was crazy. “After all that we’ve been through before now, THIS is what freaks you out?”  
“Hey, Time Travel isn’t something that we should be messing with too much, you know?”  
“Should have know that they wouldn’t be here, waiting on us.” Mac commented, crossing his arms.  
“They’re most likely on the bottom floor, waiting for us.” Light nodded, turning to the door. “That also means that there’s going to be tons of monsters waiting on us out there; younger of the Four Fiends included.”  
“No problem,” Ferris moved forward first. “We took these bastards one once before, we can do it again!”  
“Gotta love his enthusiasm,” Kari sighed, following her brother.  
“Indeed.” Mac nodded as he and Light moved after them.  
Light’s assumption had been true. There was, indeed, multitudes of monsters waiting for them in the Shrine. Many that they had experience dealing with before and some they had never even seen before. There were many treasures here as well but they were ignored as the four ran straight through the halls, ready to get this done. They were getting ready to descend their fourth set of stairs when an old Fiend showed up.  
Lich looked as scary as he had before, and pissed off that the Warriors of Light had made it this far into their Shrine. _“You shall go no further!”_ He roared, casting Flare on the group.  
“Ugh!” Ferris whipped up a shield around them group before giving a roar of his own. “We don’t have time for you, Bone-man!” Whipping up another of his Hell’s Judgment attacks, the Lich exploded into pieces, opening the path for them once more.  
Down three more floors, Maralith was waiting for them not too far ahead with all those damn arms and swords of hers.   
_“You rodents shall rue the day you stood against us!”_  
“Your bark is worse than your bite, Snake-wench!” Was Light’s reply before his Oversoul ability burnt her into a crisp; again.  
“I thought these guys were supposed to be stronger than the others,” Ferris commented as he led the way down the hall.  
“Perhaps what you said earlier was true, Ferris,” Light replied. “Perhaps all this time has made us stronger, short or not.”  
“Then that means that Tiamat should be as just as bad since we only killed her yesterday,” Ferris commented.  
Kari hung her head. “Dammit.”  
 _“This far already?!”_ Kraken greeted them at another of the stairs and rose to his full height. _“I shall stop you here; and earn all the glory for myself!”_  
“Shut up, you stupid Calamari!”  
Mac’s Ki-O-Ken ripped through the squid again, leaving the group the rest of the floor and the final Fiend that was waiting for them outside of a large door. Garland and Zera had to be in there.  
 _“I am impressed,”_ Tiamat commented. _“None before have ever made it this far. Considered yourself honored. You are one of the few to ever have faced me.”_  
“Easy for you to say, considering that we killed you merely hours ago,” Kari gripped her blade. “Don’t worry; I’ll show you a repeat.”  
As it had been believed, Tiamat was the worst of the four Fiends, again, and her powers had struck wounds in them all that Ferris had set to healing after the dragon was finally defeated. The four warriors stayed silent as they stared at the door before them. They were about to enter the final fight and so, Light stood, having the urge to say something.  
“No matter what happens back there,” He began, staring at the door. “I just want you all to know,” He turned to face the three of them. “There is no one else I would have made this journey with. The three of you are my friends; my family. Together we have made this journey together, and together we will do all in our power to finish it together. If we have to keep reliving time over and over until we finally defeat Garland, then I would have it be with no one else.”  
“Aww,” Ferris grinned at his friend as he moved forward and slung an arm around his neck. “We love you too, Light.”  
“I’m trying to be serious here, Ferris.”  
“We know,” Mac nodded, moving forward as well. “And I agree with you.   
Inside was just a barren room, a set of thrones in the middle as a square podium could be seen in each corner, holding certain objects. One of Lich’s bones. Marilith’s arm. Part of Kraken’s tentacle. One of Tiamat’s heads.   
~Zera~ Kari commented, staring at the woman that was sitting there in one of the thrones. And in front of her, standing there as they talked, was-   
“Garland!” Light growled.  
“So, you do remember me,” The voice told them that there was a smirk on the man’s face behind his helmet. “I had been growing a bit concerned, Warriors.”  
“It’s hard to forget you, you creep,” Ferris told him. “That damn helmet brought me nightmares.”  
The dark Knight gave a chuckle as Zera echoed it. “It’s hard to believe that you four brats kill me 2000 years from now. But the four great forces saved both of us by sending us back through time,” He turned and looked at the blonde woman sitting in the throne behind him. “Once here, I sent the four fiends into the future…where they shall once again use the four great forces to send us into the past! In 2000 years, I will remember none of this,” His body was enveloped by a dark light. “But I will be reborn again here.”  
Garland was no longer in his human form, telling the Warriors of Light that this was the form of Chaos that Cosmos had warned them about. With a muscular, dark red fiend, he held four arms and a pair of leather-like wings from his back and demonic faces on his knees. With a long tail and several horns, the most prominent of them were the two red horns on his head that mimicked the length of the horns that had been on his helmet. With a loincloth around his waist, it held another demonic face on it with a red amulet, blades held in each of his hands.  
“So even as you die again and again, I shall return! Born again into this endless circle that I have created!”  
At the voice of the demonic form that now stood before them, a single feeling passed through all four of the Warriors of Light. Fear. How had they even thought that they were going to be able to defeat something like this? How had they even hoped that they were going to make it out of this alive and in one piece? How could they even stand a chance against that? This was twice as bad as Tiamat had been and that was just based off of first impressions!  
“Ferris,” Light was the first to move, swallowing his fear. “Help me take on Chaos. Mac, you and Kari take Zera down as fast as you can and help us.”  
Kari pulled a face. “But-”  
“I know,” Light turned to her. “But you must. We’ve come this far; we cannot stop now.” He paused for a moment. “Perhaps Cosmos was right when she said that you could talk Zera out of all of this.”  
“But…but what if I can’t?”  
Ferris was the one to answer this time with his grin. “You’ll never know if you don’t try; now move it!” He shot off towards Chaos, firing ice at the large Fiend.  
“Come on, Kari,” Mac turned and faced the lone woman that watched them.   
Kari stared at Zera for a moment. The ex-general just sneered at her before rushing forward for an attack on Mac.  
Just as before, Zera lived up to her ranks. Her strength seemed to have multiplied since their previous skirmish in the Sunken Shrine. The woman had wasted no time to use her Rapier in her left hand; Kari remembered that first fight when she realized that Zera had been toying with them. This time she wasn’t. But neither were they. All four of them had grown stronger themselves as these events and battles had gone on and as she and Mac continued to battle against the other warrior, Kari felt herself overpowering the other woman. Light had been smart. If Zera and Chaos were fight them together, then there was no way they would survive. But if she could defeat Zera, and even defeat her, there was a chance.  
Mac gave a cry as Zera’s rapier slashed across his chest. Refusing to let her back up, the man grabbed the handle of the weapon and landed a foot against the woman’s face, ripping the blade from her hands. Kari moved at that and landed a blow of her own, wounding her.  
Zera slammed into the wall, slipping down to the ground, leaving a trail of blood behind her. She coughed into her hand, giving a glare at the blood there as she placed a hand on her stomach. Her child…was it still okay? She went to move but when a shadow fell upon her, she gazed up.  
“What are you waiting for, girl?” Zera hissed at her, glaring. “Strike now, fool!”  
“I…I can’t…” Kari lowered her blade as Mac just watched, ready for the wounded woman to pounce for another attack. “I won’t kill you, mother.”  
“Mother?” Zera snorted. “Do you truly believe what that weird woman said? There is no way that you’re my daughter; she hasn’t even been born yet! Stop trying to play me for a fool, heathen!”  
“Whether you believe it or not, you can’t change the truth!” Kari growled at her. “Cosmos is my mother. You are Cosmos. That means I am your daughter, Zera! The child that you carry is me! I don’t…understand it all myself, but I believe Cosmos; I believe you! You left because you saw that Garland had changed into something that you could not understand; something that you didn’t see until it was too late! But we still have a chance, Zera! You still have a chance to save him! You just have to-”  
“FERRIS!” Light’s roar turned both Kari and Mac from the wounded woman at their feet in time to see two of Chaos’ blades strike true into Ferris’ side as Light blocked the other two.  
“Ferris!” Kari echoed the cry as both she and Mac ran at the ferocious fiend that had wounded their brother. Ferris was tossed aside like a doll as Light continued to take a beating. Kari hurried to Ferris as Mac ran to attack the Fiend with Light. “Ferris, can you hear me?!”  
“Stop screaming in my ear,” Was the Red Wizard’s reply. She watched as his right hand began to glow as he tried to heal the wound in his side. The light faded quickly, leaving more and more blood falling out of his side. “Don’t that suck.”  
“Oh god, oh god, oh god,” Kari, grabbing her top shirt, ripped it off and slammed it against Ferris’ wound, ignoring the man’s hiss and cry as she put pressure on it. “Keep this here! Don’t move! I have a kit in the bag outside-”  
“And then there was one,” Kari froze at Chaos’ voice and whipped around. Light and Mac had been knocked aside. Mac lay limp off in a corner as Light was struggling to stand up. “What joy shall I receive from you, girl?”  
“Keep your hands off of her!” Ferris went to stand up but failed, giving another hiss.  
“I’ll finish you off in a moment,” Chaos told him. “Right after her.”  
Grabbing her blade again, Kari was barely on her feet in time to block one of the Fiend’s swings. As he over powered her, making her dodge and move backwards, Kari knew right away that Chaos was playing with her. She knew right away that if this thing was able to take down Mac, Light, AND Ferris, then there was no hope for her. And that was proven true as the Fiend’s mighty swing smashed down upon her blade again, smashing it in half, forcing the woman to the ground.  
“I had been hoping for something so much better, girl,” Chaos laughed evilly as she began to crawl back from him. She tried to roll out of the way or stand up but the Fiend smashed his blades into the floor on either side of her, keeping her on the floor as she crawled away from him.  
“Please, wait!” Kari cried at him, backing away. Her sword had been destroyed; there was nothing else for her to use now; she doubted that the small knife she held in her boot would do anything against Chaos. “Please, stop this! You can still stop and everything can return to normal! You don’t have to do this! The Four Fiends were just using you for their own benefits! Whatever it is that they told you is false! Please…father.”  
“Father?” Chaos snorted. “Try all you like, my daughter would never turn on me and try to strike me down! You will not fool me, worm.”  
She should have known that there was no hope to talk the man out of this; not after he changed into a Fiend. “Stop!” Kari cried at him. “Stay back!”  
“Don’t cry, little girl,” Chaos grinned at her. “After all, I’m daddy, aren’t I?”  
Kari found herself pinned between Chaos and the wall. Light was running to her but he wouldn’t reach them in time. Kari felt her squeeze her eyes shut, awaiting her fate.  
“TEMPEST!”  
Shooting her eyes open, Kari watched as Zera, ignoring the wounds that she had received from Kari and Mac, rained hell down upon the monster that the man she had loved had become. Kari’s eyes widened as she watched Zera perform the move she had used on Tiamat. Was this woman…had she learned this move from her as a child? Before all of this had happened?  
They all watched as the force of Zera’s blade moved Chaos away from Kari. Her blade had begun to glow a bright light and with each strike that landed true, Chaos’ form began to slowly change back into Garland’s armored form. The final strike slashed the man’s throat, knocking his helmet away, giving them all a true look at Garland’s face as he fell to his knees.   
Cosmos had been right; Kari did look like her father.  
“I…I’m sorry, Garland.” Zera whispered to him softly. With his throat slit, Garland could say nothing but his actions brought tears to her eyes. He raised his right hand and placed it gently over her stomach, over their child, before his hand finally fell, leaving his body to drop to the ground in a lifeless heap.   
“We…we did it!” Mac cried in shock, his normal cool left behind.  
“Holy shit, we actually won,” Ferris winced as he stood there, holding his bleeding side. “I can’t believe it.”  
“Is it…truly over?” Kari asked, staring at Zera as she stared down at what was left of the man she loved. These…these were her parents. Garland was her father, but…  
“It appears so,” Light sheathed his blade.  
“So, does this mean we head back up to the orb and go back home?” Ferris wondered aloud.  
“I guess so.” Kari wore a huge smile on her face as she stared at Light. He went to step towards her when the sound of cracking froze him. “Wha-”  
The walls of the Shrine began to tumble and fall, a fierce wind slipping into the room.  
“Everyone, move!” Light ordered. Mac and Ferris moved for the door and Kari went to follow them but she turned back for the other woman.   
“Zera, we have to get out of here.” The other woman didn’t move and Kari grabbed her arm. “We have to g-” Pain hit her heart at the look of the tears Zera was weeping. She wanted to hug her but she also wanted to get out of here.  
“Kari, let’s go!” Ferris’ voice called back for her and she turned to call back but a voice stopped her.  
 _“I’m afraid that she can’t.”_  
All of them turned to the voice to find Cosmos floating there in the air before them. She shone like the sun, a bright smile on her face.   
_“I told you that you could do it.”_  
“You…” Zera then shook her head. “No…me.”  
 _“Yes.”_ Cosmos nodded.  
“What are you doing, Kari? Let’s go!” Ferris roared.  
 _“I told you that she can’t.”_  
“What do you mean I can’t?” Kari growled. The wind was getting worse.  
 _“I’m afraid I lied to you, Ferris, Mac,”_ Cosmos hung her head, eyes closed. _“Lied to you when I told you I didn’t know what would happen if you were to defeat Chaos.”_  
Light blinked as Ferris and Kari demanded to know what she was talking about but he and Mac understood. “Things won’t be like they were anymore, will they?”  
 _“No, they won’t,”_ The woman shook her head. _“Time has changed. Garland and Zera will not turn against the Kingdom, also meaning that Chaos and I will not be born.”_  
“Which also means that Kari will never be left with us, will she?” Mac asked.  
“No.”  
“What?” Ferris roared.  
“No!” Kari felt her tears forming. “No, I want to go home with them! Don’t do this! Let me go with them!”  
 _“There is nothing that I can do,”_ Cosmos shook her head. _“I’m sorry.”_  
Kari glared at the blonde woman, shooting every curse and scream she could muster at her, telling her that she hated her for taking her from her family, from her brothers; from the man she loved.  
“Kari,” As the wind grew worse and worse, the six forms were left standing in a black abyss, protected only by the light that Cosmos emitted; a light that was growing weaker and weaker. Light moved forward and pulled the woman her loved into his arms and kissing her. She kissed him back, never wanted to forget the taste of him, nor forget the warmth and safety she felt when he held her.  
“Remember what I told you,” Light began. “I told you that no matter what happened, I would always find you.”  
“But…but how?” Kari cried. “How, when we don’t even know what’s going to happen. Everything’s going to change, Light! What if you don’t even become a warrior after this? What if you never leave the island and I-”  
“Don’t think that,” He told her softly. “I will always be searching for my light, Kari,” He smiled at her. “And I will search to the ends of the earth to find her.”  
“And don’t think he’ll be alone!” Ferris and Mac had moved to them to join them, taking their sister from the other man’s arms.   
“We’ll find our sister,” Mac told her.  
She let her tears fall, gathering as much as she could of all three men in her arms, their own grabbing for her. “Promise?”  
“On my life.”  
“On my soul.”  
“On my heart.”  
Zera turned and looked at her other self. “I want to go home.”  
Cosmos was silent for a moment, watching as the Warriors of Light clung to each other, not wanting to let go. She closed her eyes and her light finally faded completely. “Then home we shall go.”

 

_The time loop was severed at last…  
The Endless struggle that raged over two thousand years had ended, and peace prevailed once more.  
The light off the four Crystals restored the forces of wind, water, earth, and fire.  
It was a mere trick of fate that had given rise to the chain of Garland’s Wrath.  
But magnified by the four forces meant to guide our world, that trick of fate also gave birth to the Fiends.  
Monsters ran rampant and the world sank into darkness…  
But all that is now past.  
With the four forces flowing as they were meant, the Warriors prepared to cross time and return to the world they knew-a world where Princess Sarah, Queen Jayne, and even Garland and Zera themselves await.  
When was this fateful day that sent time spiraling into a loop?  
None can say.  
It seemed the cycle into which time had fallen would last forever. But the bravery of four young travelers changed that. They took the forces that filled the world with darkness, and used them to bathe the world in light.  
None will ever recall the struggle the four endured, for the breaking of the chain means that it never existed.  
But within the tales of fantasy that people tell, the memory of their deeds live on.  
Tale of dwarves and elves, of dragons and shining civilizations that reached for the heavens even as they fell.  
And now their return in upon us.  
With the memory off their struggle buried deep in their hearts, they will quietly watch over our world._


	17. Epilogue: Do you remember?

“You know, your father will be disappointed if you’re not there for training, Kari.”  
“But why? It’s not like I haven’t seen it before.”  
Zera sighed and shook her head at her daughter as she continued to try and climb out her window again. She gave another sigh. “I won’t cover for you again, Kari.”  
“I love you,” Kari called over her shoulder as she hopped out the window to the grass a few feet below.  
“She takes after you, you know.”  
Zera turned to face the man that had opened the door behind her. Tall and in his black and purple armor, Garland’s shaggy brown hair and green eyes looked just their daughters.   
“I know she does,” Zera shook her head, her blonde hair held back in a leather tie. “But when she fights, she takes to you quite astonishingly.”  
Garland gave a grin, running a hand over his short beard. “What can I say? There’s nothing that I dislike about her. She is perfect.”  
“Two perfect halves make a whole, you know.” Zera teased. “She would be even better if someone weren’t so lenient on her.”  
Garland gave another of his guilty grins. “Don’t look at me. How can you say no to such a face?”  
Zera shook her head and pushed her husband out of their daughter’s room. “Let’s go, dear. The trainees will be waiting.”

Kari wore a large smile on her face as she was free of the Cornelia kingdom and in the wild outside of the city. Ever since she was young she loved to explore the forests and the grasslands outside of the city. Most of the time her mother and father would come with her, but now that she was getting older she liked doing things on her own. Normally she would rather be alone but as of late she’s been sad. She felt like something was missing. She would imagine friends with her, laughing and talking and enjoying themselves just as much as she was as they traveled through the wild, fighting monsters and saving people from horrid fates. She would want just three of them; that was all she would need. One would be able to wield magic, another a knight like her father and the last would be someone that could use their hands and teach her some of those karate arts that she had seen often in the city. She had taken too her mother’s form of swordplay, but still, it wouldn’t hurt to learn some neat tricks, would it?  
Coming to a stop near the food, Kari took a breather, thinking silently to herself. Before long movement caught her eye from the trees and she gave a smile. A small boar was there, it’s mother and sibling close by. She came hunting with her father often here but today she just didn’t feel like killing anything. Picking up a rock, she tossed it at the trees. The rock sent the boars off running, squealing as loud as it could into the woods.   
“Hey! Those were mine, dammit!”  
The voice caught Kari by surprise and she turned to see a man walking towards her. With long blond hair and green eyes he was dressed head to foot in red with a large fedora and a white feather. He held a large staff in his hand, signaling that he was a magic user.  
“I-I’m sorry,” She told him. She saw two others move up behind him. One in purple and yellow that held no weapons and another in armor with a sword. “I didn’t know that there was anyone else out here.”  
“Well, what are we going to eat now, you stupid br-” The mage’s voice faded as he came to a stop. The duo did just the same. All three of them seemed shocked.  
“Are…are you okay?” Kari asked, look between the three of them.  
“Yes.” The man in purple nodded. “Ignore my brother here. Ferris is easy to anger.”  
“Shut it, Mac,” The man in red hissed.  
“He speaks the truth, you know.”  
“You too, Light! God, both of you need to stop picking on me!”  
Kari gave a chuckle. “That wasn’t going to be your meal for the day, was it?”  
“Yeah, it was,” Ferris nodded. “But we’ll be alright. We can find something else, unless you wanna help in that department for taking it away from us.”  
“I live in the city. I could introduce you to the inn owners. They can get you some food and bed, seeming as how you look exhausted.”  
“We’ve traveled far,” The man in armor, Light, was the one to speak this time.   
“That’s very kind of you,” The other man, Mac, smiled at her.  
“It’s no problem,” She had a feeling that there was something strange about these men but something in her head told her that they weren’t going to try and harm her. “The name’s K-”  
“Kari,” The Red Wizard grinned. “Yes, I know. Believe me, we all know.”  
Mac whacked the other man in the arm as Light moved forward. “What my friend means to say is that the name of the Great General Garland’s daughter has traveled far; it’s why we traveled here to Cornelia. It is an honor to have you even think about helping us at all.”  
“Well, my mother taught me how to be nice,” Kari replied. “Just keep the weird one away from me and we’ll be fine.”  
Light and Mac chuckled as Ferris gave some curses.   
“Calm down, brother,” Mac led the wizard away, leaving Light and Kari alone.  
“What a weird fellow.” She commented.  
Light chuckled. “That’s what his sister always said.”  
“Said?” Kari repeated. “Is she…no longer…”  
“No, she’s alive; we just have to find her now.”  
She nodded. “Then I wish you good luck. A nights rest in a good bed and food should get you ready for another part of your search, won’t it?”  
Light was silent for a moment and as he stared at her, Kari could have sworn she had seen those eyes before. Those Aqua-marine eyes…but how?  
“Do you…believe in past lives?” He asked her.  
Kari raised a brow. “In past lives?”  
“Yes. Like memories that you feel you’ve forgotten or strange things just appearing in your mind that you shouldn’t know, but you do?”  
Kari stared at him in suspicion for a moment. “And if I told you that I did?”  
Light turned from her, staring down at Ferris and Mac as they continued to talk to themselves. “When I was young, I remember playing with a young girl with brown hair. Mac and Ferris remember it too but one day…she just disappeared. The people in the village just tried to tell me that she was something I made up and for a time, I believed them, until the day that I met a pirate named Bikke. I don’t know how, but memories flooded my mind of that girl again, just older now. She and the three of us traveled the lands, saving Crystals and kingdoms and fighting Fiends.”  
“You mean like the legend of the Warriors of Light?” She asked him.  
Light gave a chuckle. “Yes, something like that. The last place I could think of that girl being was here in Cornelia and so, here we are. Perhaps you’ve seen her before.”  
“With so many people here in Cornelia, I can’t be too sure, but I’ll try my hardest to answer your questions about her. you got her name?”  
“Kari.”  
“Yes?”  
Light chuckled. “No, that’s her name; Kari.”  
She shook her head. “I’m sorry; I haven’t met anyone with my name here in Cornelia.”  
He wore a huge grin. “I know you haven’t. That’s because you’re the one that we’re searching for, Kari.”  
“Wha-” Her voice was cut off as Light kissed her. She was stunned for a moment and tried to pull away but her had grabbed her tightly and held her to him. Lifting a knee and hitting the man, she gave a grunt as she hit the armor. She reached back with a hand this time instead to hit him in the face but she was knocked off balanced by some type of force hitting her head. She gave out a cry and grabbed her head as visions flashed through her head. Growing up with Mac and Ferris on an island. Going on adventures with her brothers and Light. Becoming the Warriors of Light and saving the world. Finding her parents. It all struck her hard and as the pain faded away she just stared up at the blue sky.  
“Damn, Light, you didn’t have to hurt her.” Ferris’ voice reached her ears.   
“I didn’t mean to. I didn’t think it would knock her off her feet.”  
“Is she all right?”  
“Why don’t you touch her and find out?”  
As Kari continued to stare up at the sky, Light’s face moved forward to block her view, a look of worry covering his face. “Kari? Can you hear me?”  
“If I couldn’t hear you, you would know,” She grunted, not bothering to move.  
“So,” Ferris began, leaning over her face as well. “Do you remember us yet? Or am I gonna have to take a go at jogging your memory?”  
His answer was a kick to the face and Kari stood up as he backed away, holding his nose.  
“Welcome back, Kari.” Mac smiled at his sister.  
“Good to be back, Mac,” She replied, pulling him in for a hug.  
“Why do I get a kick and he gets a damn hug?!” Ferris cried. “That’s total bullshit!”  
Giving a laugh, Kari pulled her other brother in for a hug. “I had to make sure you were real, Ferris.”  
“Total bullshit,” The man repeated with a smile. “But I’ll take it anyway. It wasn’t the same without you Kari.””  
“Same here,” She pulled back. “How did we get the memories back though? I thought Cosmos said that it would be impossible.”  
“Perhaps it was her last way of saying thank you,” Light answered her. “We just had to find a way to get them back ourselves.”  
“Well, either way I’ll take them,” Ferris turned to look at the castle. “So, Garland and Zera aren’t crazy psychos now, right?”  
“Watch yourself,” Mac hissed at his brother. “They’re Kari’s parents.”  
“It’s all right, Mac,” the woman waved Ferris’ comment aside. “And believe it or not, they’re both very caring. All I ever wanted my parents to be. You and Zera will get along just fine, Ferris.”  
“Great! I would make moves on the hottie, but I’d rather not have my ass beaten by her husband again, you know?”  
Mac rolled his eyes as his brother made his way towards the Cornelia kingdom; he soon followed, leaving Light and Kari on the hill alone.  
“I’m glad,” She began, staring after them. “Now that I know not even the hands of time can keep me from you all, I’m happy; very happy.”  
“I told you that I would find you, Kari.” Moving up beside her, the knight wore a smile on his face as he stared into her eyes. “My promise,” Light began. “Don’t you remember?”  
“Yes,” Kari smiled at him, pulling his face closer from another kiss. “I remember.”


End file.
